Silver Snow
by Xiao Xi Quao
Summary: Snow, the daughter of Garth and Lilly, longs to see the world outside of the territory, despite the disdain of her pack. But when a mysterious pup comes floating down along the river, her life as she knows it will change forever. Alpha and Omega fic  3
1. I Promise

Disclaimer: I do not own Alpha and Omega, or any character's pertaining to the actual movie, HOWEVER, all of the original character's are M-I-N-E. *Fixes tie * Thank you and enjoy.

Silver Snow

_**Chapter 1: I Promise**_

Snow panted slightly from excitement as she darted across the underbrush like a snow-white blur. Her powerful wolf feet continuously pounded the ground in rhythmic drumming, snapping twigs and stirring bits of debris and dust. The air was clear and crisp and the sun shone down vibrantly through cracks in the leaves, spilling over in a bright splendor across the entire earthy vegetation of Jasper Park. A hint of breeze tickled Snow's fur and was just barely enough to heave the heavy clouds underneath the sun.

Snow blew her tuft of overhanging head fur from the left side of her face checking to see if she was still ahead. The wolf pup's ears perked up slightly. She could hear the sounds of them running, but grinned triumphantly at the thought of her being way out in front of the other wolves following. This race, like most of her prior races, was all hers. Snow shook her head fur from her face, arched her head back, and let out a loud howl—a howl that was abruptly cut short once she felt the thud of her tripping over her own paws and tumbling onto her belly. Her nose stung from where she hit and she rubbed on it tenderly.

"Not Cool…" She grumbled.

"I think I can see her!"

"Hurry up, before she pulls away again!"

"Yikes!" Snow scrambled to her feet, but by the sound of paw steps coming closer and closer from around the bend, she knew she wasn't going to make it off again in time. Instead, with a sly grin, she rolled onto her back, legs curled, tongue lulled out to the side, and head plopped onto the ground. The first wolf pup to come through the bushes barely had time to slide to a screeching stop, reaching Snow with only a few inches to spare. His black and gray fur was a little dirty, possibly from all the dirt that had been kicked up in his run after his friend. He gave his small mane of fur a quick shake and began to pace around Snow slowly and carefully. He gave her a prod. She didn't move. He growled and snapped at her muzzle. Snow remained perfectly motionless, almost as though she were—

"Is she dead, Mick?"

"Ah!" The first thud of a pup crashing into the other's back made him lurch forward to the balls of his toes, and two more thuds of two more pups creating a train of crashes that sent him reeling down onto his stomach. "Get off of me!" Mick rolled the three pups off of him and rose back up to his feet. His attention turned back to Snow.

"I doubt it." The bushes gave another rustle. A female wolf pup stepped out over to them, almost nonchalantly. Her dirty gray fur reflected the sunlight, with the exception of the black streaks on her paws. She walked over to the huddle of pups and sat down, constantly prodding Snow with her paw.

"Sis! Sis! Sis!" The three smaller pups chimed and crowded around her. Two of them, boys, had streaking red and white fur. Their sister, who constantly piped in the middle, ruffled her mountain red fur, tilting her head down at her older sibling. Snow stayed motionless. Mick grinned.

"Shower time, boys—"

"Grrr!"

"And girl!" Mick added hastily and made a circling motion with his finger. This wasn't good. The three smallest pups wagged their tails, turning to stand erect at Snow's sides. "Alright, pups—Leg's up. Aim, and—"

"NO!"

With a mighty spring, Snow's body soared overhead down onto her feet across the way from them. With her tongue hanging out in mock-victory, she sprinted off with yet another howl. The rapid pounding of paws followed by jars of how unfair she was shot out like bullets to her ears, but she only continued to run faster and faster. Leaping overgrown tree roots, diving underbrush, and darting across zigzagging trails, Snow made her way up a long incline in the land, until the canopy of trees had been shed away and her fur kissed by the sunlight. The cliff she stood upon overlooked Jasper Park in its entirety, spanning a view of rugged mountainous forest, snaking rivers and crashing falls, and lush, grassy clearings. But it wasn't the beauty of the park itself that had captivated Snow. On the contrary, every time she found herself sitting on that particular hill, her gaze moved well behind the box of mountain range over into the world beyond. A look of appreciation spread across her face and she sat down to enjoy the view.

"Hey, why'd you stop running?" Mick's voice came in soft pants. He slid to a stop and then walked beside her, looking to Snow, and then out to the line of her gaze. He already knew what she was thinking. "Oh, this again, huh?"

Snow rolled her eyes and her ears gave a flicker at hearing her siblings and friend make their way up to her.

"We're stopping the race? What gives?" The elder female walked up to Snow's other side.

"One day, maybe soon." Snow seemed to voice to no one in particular.

"Seriously, Snow?"

"It's not that silly, is it, Luna?" Snow turned to the female, looking for agreement. "You don't ever get the urge to see what else is out there? Ever? Not even when you look at it from a view like this?" She let out another sigh, one of longing. "Why do we always have to be stuck on the territory?"

"You're the only one who complains about it." Mick held out his paw, "We have everything we need and want right here. There's no need for us to leave."

"No leave! No leave!" The three youngest chimed in an annoying unison. But Snow wasn't hearing it from either of them. Ever since she had gotten her first glance, she knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to see the world; see what lay beyond the ignorant walls of mountains and trees that their territory confined her family to.

"One day…"

"…" Mick let out a sigh, seemingly rethinking his words, then dared to inch close to Snow's side. "Maybe you could think of something to get your mind of it. Like…" His eyes surveyed the surrounding area for something—anything—that he could change the subject to. He had found his chance when he spotted a group of wolves lead by a golden-furred wolf down in the valley below, chasing a stampeding group of caribou at the heels. "There—see? No one's gonna go hungry tonight."

Snow rolled her eyes and got up, turning away from her view, and making her way back down the hill. The others looked at each other, then followed behind her.

By the time the early evening had come along, the entire den area was buzzing with the sounds of happy, eating wolves. Everyone, from the smallest pup to the oldest elder had their maws stuffed with warm caribou meat, which meant that for the next few nights, any kind of hostility would be stifled. Snow made her way through the area and gazed at the size of her large pack. Wolves practically littered every hill, every cliff, and every den in the wide clearing. She had heard once that the pack hadn't always been that big; that they had once been divided in half. But with the help of her parents, uncle, and aunt, that gap had been bridged, not only in terms of pride, but in terms of class as well. But every so often, that old rivalry would show, breaking into squabbles that made omegas like her come in handy. Snow made her way up a hill towards the den that had overlooked the others, but was almost immediately passed up by her brothers and sisters. She watched them scramble into the den and nearly side-swipe their father in order to crowd around their meal.

Garth simply chucked and shook his head. The rather masculine red wolf made his way over to his mate and sat down next to her, grooming her fur as they watched their children ate. There was no mistaking Snow for Lilly's daughter. With the same snow-white fur down to the head fur that annoyingly swayed in front of their faces, it looked as though Lilly had literally spit her out. As a matter of fact, the only real physical characteristic Snow had received from Garth was his emerald green eyes, as opposed to the vibrant orchid opticals her mother possessed. The three pups snarled and tackled over each other, each one trying to fight over the other in order to get the most food as fast as they could. Snow never really understood why they always acted like no one ever fed them.

"Get out of my way, Petunia!"

"Ladies first!"

"I don't see any ladies anywhere!"

Their squabbling could've gone on forever. They hadn't really stopped until an older female wolf had placed her paw down in the middle of them. Snow's grandmother, Eve. She gave a look that was overly maternal and separated them, smiling kindly.

"Now pups, what have your mother and I told you?"

They looked at each other.

"Always announce yourself before kicking someone's butt."

"I'm gonna kick your butt!" They all shouted and were suddenly rolling over each other, crashing into the walls. Lilly put her paw on her face and sighed.

"You actually told them that, not me."

Ignoring her siblings, Snow walked over to her parents. She could tell they hadn't eaten. They never did until their pups were finished.

"Uhm," Snow started, but Lilly already knew what she was going to say before she had said it.

"Go ahead, It's okay." She waved her paw.

Snow nodded and practically slid down the hill and over to a group of pups that had gathered near the caribou meat in the middle along with her grandfather, Mick and Luna included. The elderly Winston waited for a few moments before he was sure no new-coming pups would make their way over to him before giving a stretch that made his retired form click in places Snow was sure couldn't have been too comfortable. On nights like this, where everyone was too full to do anything but relax, he always made it a habit to spin some kind of story for the pups. Just a little ways away, she could spot her uncle Humphrey, and laughed slightly. He was such a pup at heart, and though he was trying to sneak his way close enough to hear the story, he was doing a bad job hiding it. Even worse, he pulled his alpha leader mate Kate over with him by the tail, who seemed to be opposed to it, but Snow knew that deep down, for the same reason in which she loved Humphrey, she wanted to hear the tale as well. The old gray wolf cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Long, long, long ago, when the world was new, all wolves lived together in harmony, coexisting much like our pack today. They defended one another, and aided one another; though they had differences, they were family. One wolf in particular had stood above them all, and his name Freyr. This mighty, majestic wolf spirit was very powerful and had dominion over both the realm of light, and the realm of shadows." Winston took a pause to gaze around and the increasing number of the pack who had become attentive to his story before continuing. "Freyr had lead his family to piece and prosperity for several lifetimes. But as time rolled on, Freyr began to forget the values of love for one's family. He began to treat his pack more like servants; members that were expendable in order to attain more power not only his own dominion, but every spirit world that kept the delicate balance of life together. Love turned into hate; peace turned into war; and members of the pack had begun to dwindle because of their ruler's selfish acts. Freyr had to be stopped, but how could they do so? The pack felt weak, lost, and scared. It wasn't until a group of brave wolves united under the leadership of one of their pack members decided to challenge the tyrant, regardless of how weak they seemed. They used the power of love for each other and managed to trick Freyr, and split the wolf lord into two separate entities, forever trapped within the twilight so that he could never regain his power."

"And they lived happily ever after?" One of the smaller pups asked, his tail wagging. Winston reached over to rub his head with his paw.

"Well, not quite at first. Though Freyr's power had been split in two, they had been reborn into pups much like you. Whenever the pups were fated to meet, they instinctively fought each other, over and over, endlessly without stopping or care for whoever managed to get caught up in their way. Their sense of love for life; for their brethren and future is abandoned, for if one ever managed to conquer the other, than he would be able to regain his power as Freyr and rule once again."

"Has one of them ever actually done it…?" Another pup sat up, scrap meat hanging from the edge of his mouth.

Winston smiled and laid down on the tops of his paws. "If they had, do you believe that our pack would be as big as it is now?"

Snow had really long-since stopped listening. She had heard the story before and turned her gaze up towards the sky through the canopy of trees. Her emerald eyes were glazed into canvas of approaching night, and her thoughts soared way beyond, over the mountains and into the world outside. Being able to eat as a whole with her pack—her family—was something to be appreciative about. But it was also a reminder of the prison surrounding her.

"Isn't it kinda hard to hear the story from up there?"

"Ah!" Snow didn't realize when Humphrey had snuck up on her, but when he did, she jumped and nearly fell over. He laughed and caught her by the forehead, tipping her back up to her sitting position.

"Uncle Humphry, You've been to the world outside. Is it really that much worse than it is here?" She turned his way. Humphrey scratched his cheek, as if pretending to think, then brandished his paw.

"Nah. Actually, it was pretty fun; meeting new friends, near-death experiences—oh, and let's not forget how many times I got to save your mom from certain death—" Humphrey gave a glance to the side just in time to catch Kate rolling her eyes and mutter something, of which he responded with a "Details, details" statement before proceeding to snow. "But the best part of it all would have had to be the train ride back—"

"Humphrey," Kate's elbow-jab to the hip shut Humphrey almost instantly. But Snow was sold; the confirmation that she had been wanting had come straight from the horse's mouth.

"I just don't understand…Why can't I see what's outside?"

"It's not that we're trying to keep you trapped here…don't look at it that way, Snow."

Snow's ears perked up at the familiar nuzzle of her mom's nose behind her ears. Garth placed his paw on her head, rolling back the fur from her face.

"It's just not as easy as you think. I mean, it takes training—lots and lots of training—before you can even think about having a full run at—"

"Garth,"

"I mean, it's really, really dangerous and no amount of training should be any excuse to wander off from the pack, right Lilly?" Garth flashed a nervous, rehearsed smile to Lilly's sweet-as-candy smile, and relaxed once she gave him an approving nod.

"Uncle Humphrey did it." Snow interjected.

"That was a mistake." Kate said, "It wasn't our fault."

"Well I wouldn't say mistake. Actually more like the best thing in my life to ever hap—"

_Jab!_

"It was a mistake!" Humphrey rubbed his side where Kate's elbow had landed true, receiving a "You're not helping" kind of look from his mate.

Snow felt her ears roll forward only slightly and stood up to her feet. She had begun to say something, or more like yell it, but instead, she turned around and stormed off, dragging her tail along the ground. Reluctant to leave the food, Mick rolled up to his paws and followed after her. He tried to hide it, but his tail had begun to wag—that is, until Luna also made her way after them. He scoffed under his breath; so much for spending some time alone to comfort the dreamer.

"Snow…" Lilly started to go after her, but Garth put his paw on her shoulder.

"She'll be okay when she cools off, Lilly, don't worry." Kate comforted her sister.

"I wish…she didn't have to always feel like we're boxing her in." Lilly gazed at her paws.

"They're always boxing me in!"

Snow abandoned her first thought to go over to her usual cliff-side view of the territory beyond. It would only make her even madder. So instead, she chose to go to the edge of the river, plopping down on the slightly wet grass and folding her paws under her head. Her reflection rippled in the moving water, and she shook her head so that her fur fell back over the left side of her face from when her dad moved it back. They just didn't understand; they were all too wrapped up in their content lives within the safety confines of the territory. Too much to be entranced by an even greater wonder that may lay just beyond the reach of their paw tips. She let out a sigh and began to close her eyes. Maybe she'd just sleep there for the night.

_Plop!_

Scratch that. She lazily looked up, to see Mick and Luna bordering either sides of her. While Luna kept almost a couple of paws' length of space away, Mick was pressing his side up against hers, generating a slight unwanted warmth between them. She had to push him away a little, but he didn't seem to be discouraged by it.

"You gonna be okay, Snow?" Mick asked first, leaning over so that his head was level with hers. Snow nodded, but didn't really want to talk about it. Mick pressed on. "I know you feel like everyone's against you, but that's really not the case. We're just trying to help. Besides…it's just a dream, right?"

Snow looked at him, frowned, and then looked away.

"Nice choice of words, genius." Luna slapped her paw up the back of Mick's head, then placed it onto Snow's shoulder. "What he's trying to say is that you shouldn't let it get to you. They're only saying those things to you because they care, not to hurt you."

"I don't think they're hurting me." Snow shrugged her shoulder off and looked up slightly. "They just don't understand. No one does." She had to leave. She knew they were trying to help, but they really weren't. She raised to her feet and was about to go, when something in the distance caught the edge of her eye. Snow wheeled to the side, past Mick, and gazed upstream. It took a moment for Luna and Mick to follow, but soon, they saw what she was looking at too. Something was slowly drifting down river. At first, it was too far away to tell what it was, but upon a closer glance as it drifted towards them, the shape of a pup became apparent.

"Come on!" Snow exclaimed and darted off before anyone could tell her otherwise. She could hear the others running up behind her as she made her way up the riverside. The pup's body lay motionless, drifting faster into the current atop a stray bit of driftwood. With every tip and bump, the passenger threatened to be thrown into the water.

"Hold my tail." Snow slapped her tail into Mick's muzzle, leaving little time for him to clamp on with his fangs as she dove into the water. He staggered, almost falling over had not Luna anchored his own tail into her mouth. Snow paddled hard through the blue. Water splashed up from her paws, making her head fur fall limp over her face almost to the point of her not being able to see. With many futile attempts to shake it from her vision, her nose smacked into the edge of the driftwood. The pup must've been unconscious. Even though the rapids were turning his transport wildly, he remained motionless. But now wasn't the time for speculation. Snow clasped the pup's tail into her mouth and dragged him off into the water. Her arms locked securely around his chest, fighting to keep his head above water.

"Pull me in! Come on!" She shouted back to her friends. Mick and Luna grit their fangs, backpedalling and pulling the white wolf through the splashing rapids. Snow's tail ached from the tugging, but she focused on her tight grip around the pup too much to care. With a mighty heave, Snow felt herself being hurtled back onto dry land, right on top of Mick. She spat a little water, but quickly lead into a triumphant howl. "We did it!"

"That's great. Not that I'm whining that you fell on me, but two is a little much. Get off." Mick shoved snow off to the side and rubbed his chest where she had landed.

"Couldn't you warn us a little earlier? Sheesh," Luna walked over, turning sharply to Mick. "And you! Lose some weight!"

"Nevermind the fact that you were hauling three of us." Mick rolled his eyes and she slapped his ear.

Snow rolled to her feet and looked the pup over. His fur was sleek and black like midnight, with the exception of the white that branded his muzzle, paws and tail tip. Parts of his fur were branded with burn marks, and his left paw adorned some sort of bracelet made out of black beads strung together. Snow tilted her head slightly. He was cute, there was no doubt about that. But there was something else; an edge of feeling that she couldn't quite put on the tip of her tongue.

"Don't tell me we just rescued a dead pup." Mick's voice snapped Snow to reality, making her realize that he had been shaking and prodding him the entire time. "My poor tail took pain for nothing."

"Shut up, he's not dead." Luna put her ear against his chest. "His heart's beating. It's a little slow…but it's still beating. He probably knocked out."

"Half dead, that's a hell of a lot better." Mick said.

Snow's resolve came quickly, and the next thing she knew, she was wriggling underneath the unconscious pup, rolling him onto her back. She heard Mick scoff, but chose to ignore it, until he protested openly.

"We can't take him back, Snow. What if he was sent down the river for a reason?"

"We can't just leave him here, Mick." Snow turned sharply, her wet fur slapping her face. Mick opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and proceeded to follow after her.

Snow knew the moment they had returned to the den area, they would receive stares from almost everyone in the entire pack. But she wasn't concerned about that in the least, nor the under-breath murmurs that were shot her way. Instead, she, Mick, and Luna took their save up to Lily and Kate's den, dropping him off at the far end wall. They had been asked to leave for a time, in which Snow sat at the mouth of the den on edge while the older and elder speculated the pup.

"Mom, I'm fine, really." Snow protested against Lilly's constant grooming and checking of her pup. Her mom wasn't hearing it. She gave Snow a most worried expression, keeping her close to her as if she was going to be blown away or something if she let go. Garth nudged a bone with a few scraps his daughter's way, half out of worry and half out of apology for earlier. Snow smiled slightly, but shook her head. She was more curious about the fate of the pup, or in the fate of the decision her aunt Kate and the pack would make.

When Kate finally did walk out, her expression was branded with the normal Alpha-seriousness she almost always wore. Lilly's ears perked up, already expecting her sister to tell her the news.

"Well, He's not dead. But it's like he's…not alive, either."

"Huh?" Lilly tilted her head. Kate sat down in front of her. But before Kate could give an answer, Winston poked his head out of the den, motioning to not just Kate, but all of them. Snow was the first to make her way into the den, pushing through Humphrey, her siblings, and grandparents. The pup was sitting upright. But something about him was still wrong. His eyes, lined with a vibrant ring of moonlight silver, stared off past the onlookers, seemingly into the nothingness. Despite their radiance, they were dead; like two stones set in the sockets that couldn't see and showed no signs of the flicker of life. No part of his body moved, save the occasional twitch of his ears whenever someone new had entered the den. The scraps set before the pup were untouched, and Snow could see her brothers and sister getting antsy over them. They were so greedy.

"He's unresponsive…" Winston sat down. "I've asked him questions; asked about his pack, his name—everything. The pup can't talk, let alone eat. I'm guessing by the burns on his fur that he may have been traumatized."

"What's 'traumatized'?" Snow looked his way. Winston seemed to mull around his brain for a simple way to answer his granddaughter.

"It means something happened that made him forget everything. He may not ever remember who he is, where he came from, or his pack."

Snow's ears fell just slightly. What a horrible feeling that must be; to have literally lost everything. She could feel her pity being played in strings for the pup who seemed to be both there and yet so far away at the same time. She saw Kate whispering to Humphrey and another gray wolf with white branded on his face. She recognized him quickly, a wolf that always flanked Kate's right side on every hunt. The two males nodded and turned to leave the den. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she had asked them to see if they could find any traces of the pup's past. This was a good thing because it meant that she had already decided to let the pup stay for the time being. Snow turned her gaze back to the pup; purposely tried to move her eyes in the line of his. He didn't blink. He didn't move. He started straight through her, as though she wasn't there. She moved forward and gave his ear a slap of her paw, only to have her mother put her paw on her head.

"Don't do that." Lilly said.

Snow didn't fully comprehend the result. His ear had flickered, but there was no yelp; no retort; not even a disapproving or playful look in the slightest. Just blank emptiness reflected in his lifeless eyes. So why was it that this feeling of edged emotion—the comprehension of knowing that there was something more, or maybe something hiding—seem to bother Snow? The slight crowd around the pup began to dissipate, and the pups took the opportunity to tackle each other over for the bit of food that had been left. Garth nuzzled Lilly's muzzle before they made their way to their spot in the den, pressing close side by side and watching their youngest pups just in case the fight became too rowdy. That just left Snow to lay where she stood, gauging the newcomer in some hopes of a response. It never came, and when she began to find the staring a bit creepy, she turned her head and settled down to sleep for the night.

He wasn't sure for how long he had been sleeping. As a matter of fact, he couldn't even tell where he was or how he hadn't gotten to wherever the 'where' had come to be. He knew nothing, albeit basic functions. If he tried to think back, he saw blank nothingness. If a memory existed, it had been something wet splashing up against him, and a pair of emerald green eyes piercing into his own. He stretched and raised his head up, opening his eyes. Light of the sun was warm and welcoming, flitting into the stone enclosing of the den he seemed to have been placed in. But the rays had been dyed a subtle orange as opposed to the vibrant yellow of the morning. How long had he been sleeping?

"I thought you had actually died on me."

"…" The pup slowly craned his head to the side. The piercing green eyes were actually radiant. Why he had thought they were any kind of threat baffled him only slightly. They came accompanied with a snow-white wolf that stood before him, holding a bone full of scrap meat in her mouth. He hadn't realized how hungry he had been until he had seen the food, and his eyes stuck to the bone like glue. If his stomach was growling, Snow had obviously heard it, and rolled the bone his way.

"When you sleep, it's a little scary. You don't move or even snore." Snow said. The pup didn't respond, his fangs tearing at the bone and picking it clean in slow, but hungry bites. Snow frowned and but was persistent. "Uhm…so where are you from?"

He couldn't answer that. His only response was to look up to her.

"…Well, what about your pack? Do you miss them?"

Would he? That was a good question that was insufficiently answered by the blank space in his thoughts. Again, the silence answered Snow's question. She didn't seem frustrated. Maybe the look in her eyes had been pity. She moved closer to him, so that she was only inches from his personal space. Not that he made an effort to move back from her.

"Do you at least remember your name?" Snow asked. He could remember that. Slowly, the syllables rang true to his thoughts in some delayed reaction, as if remember his own name had been some kind of taboo. But it must've taken longer than he thought, for Snow finally let out a sigh and turned to make her way out of the den. "Maybe they were right…" The pup watched her tail drag the ground as she left, unenthusiastically urging his voice to comply.

"…Silver."

Snow stopped midway out of the den and turned to gaze at him. He started at her, eyes still blank, and repeated himself when he wasn't sure that she had heard him the first time. She made her way back to him, and was once again invading his personal space.

"Silver…I like it. Is it because of your eyes?" Snow pointed to them. Silver responded with a lost, slow shrug. "What about the other stuff? Your pack? How you got here? What…happened to your fur?" She dared to ask.

Silver looked himself over carelessly. He hadn't noticed the burn marks himself, not that he could give any explanation to how they got there in the first place. He looked back to her, then slowly shook his head. Snow sighed, glancing down at her paws. He wasn't sure why she seemed so interested; why it even seemed to matter. But just as quickly as it had left, her eager smile had returned. Silver found his paws placed in between hers and looked at them. Her touch was soft, but firm, and warm.

"Silver, I'm Snow. And you don't have to worry, okay? Even if you can't remember anything, I'll help you. I'll help you make new memories to replace the old ones, okay?"

Silver could only answer with a nod.

"Come on," Snow pulled him up to his paws, and then ran off ahead of him. Not that he was all that enthusiastic to follow, he made an effort to keep up with her. The pack seemed quite large within the den area. And Silver had easily taken notice to the many pairs of eyes that gazed his way, as though he were the walking dead to them. Snow lead him down a dirt trail leading away from the home, deeper within the forest. Once they had gone a slight ways down, just beyond the banks of the river, Silver could make out the forms of two other wolves in the nearby distance. Snow waved her paw overhead to get their attention.

"I'm here. Sorry I'm late."

"Hey, Snow-Ughn, you ditched us this morning for that? Are you kidding me?" Mick sucked his fangs once they had approached him and Luna. The chagrin in his expression was clear, but Snow ignored it. She held her paw out towards Silver with another enthusiastic smile.

"He told me his name is Silver. I think that's about all he can remember, though. Right?"

It took Silver longer than he had realized, but he managed a slow nod towards them. His sight when from the rather angry male wolf to the female who had seemed to be eyeballing him as though he were a piece of meat. Mick huffed and quickly imposed his body between Silver and Snow, circling the new-comer pup several times over, sizing him up. Silver's eyes had barely the interest to follow him.

"If you ask me, he still looks like the dead pup we found in the river."

"That's mean," Snow rolled Mick back and guarded Silver. But Mick moved back to the blank wolf and jabbed his finger to his nose.

"I'm sure he can talk for himself if he's not. Alright then, _Sliver_—"

"Silver—"

"Whatever. Say something, pup."

The only movement that came from Silver was his change of visionary target to Mick. He stared, not mouthing a single word. Luna giggled.

"Aww, he only opened up to Snow. Looks like Mick's Snow-club membership is getting bumped."

"Must you say the first thing that comes out of your head _every time_?" Mick exclaimed.

"We're supposed to help him make new memories, okay? So he's gonna be hanging out with us from now on." Snow said.

"Wait, who said you could just dec—"

"I think it's a great idea." Luna shoved Mick off to the side and sized Silver up, though without the predatory circling. "I have to say, we have a knack for rescuing some cute pups. We should make a habit out of this." Silver didn't quite understand the expression that had branded her face; the way her eyes batted and the corners of her mouth turned up as if to impose some kind of hidden secondary thought.

Snow rolled her eyes and nudged Silver closer her way, lest she be more than likely to never see hide nor hair of him again if Luna had anything to do with it. Mick rolled up to his feet and scratched the back of his head. Between protective big sister and madam flirt, he didn't stand a chance of overturning the idea. So as usual, he grumbled under his breath and shut his mouth. Silver's body lazily scanned the area around him. Nothing seemed familiar. He couldn't relate to the pups who were crowding around him; not the feel of the terra firma beneath his paws, and thinking back only invited another empty page in his mind. Perhaps the only reason his curiosity was even the slightest bit rooted may have been due to the three talking about him as if he had been someone once upon a time.

Silver's reverie was quickly broken by a rumble overhead, a rush of wind, and a cannon of laughter that made his fur and ears stand up slightly. His head was the last to jerk to the hill overhead, but he could catch the sight of what looked like a quartet of wolves—adult wolves—sliding down the hills atop a broken tree. The wooden sled spiraled and coasted up the banks of hills, soaring across the grass and heading downwards towards the steep decline a little further away in the distance. Laughter echoed loudly, and when he had heard a loud thudding noise, he could only surmise that they sledding wolves had hit the bottom.

"That's uncle Humphrey." Snow shook her head, "I never did really get into that, but if they think slamming face-first into trees is fun…"

"Snow." Mick might have been trying to hide the grin on his face, but he was doing a horrible job at it. "Let's show Silver how _we_ have fun."

Snow tapped her cheek with her claw for a moment to think. It didn't take long for her ears to perk up and she nodded, looking around for a moment. "This way, we'll show you something that's a lot more fun than sliding down on an old tree." She nudged Silver to beckon him after. He did, but Mick had quickly paced himself between them, leaving Luna to flank his side. Silver followed Snow and Mick beyond the shrubs and bushes and over to the edge of a towering cliff. Upon looking down, he could see a small group of caribou grazing soundlessly at the lush field of grass below. Snow, Mick, and Luna all inched towards the edge with wily grins on their faces, tails wagging from side to side.

"Are we really about to scare away dinner in the name of fun?" Mick looked to the girls. They all grinned and answered with an excited "Yep" at the same time, and began sliding down the rocky cliff. Snow was the first land off, plopping soundlessly in the grass. Though she was an omega, she knew how to command the alpha blood that ran through her veins, silently crouching through the tall grass and making her way closer towards the oblivious antler-ed victims. Mick had taken the far left while Luna had made her way to the right, triangulating from behind the ground.

There was a moment where Snow glanced back at Silver, and she nearly jumped. He figured she must not have realized him following so closely behind her. She stopped, looking at her two cohorts, then nodded. With a sudden leap, the three wolf pups rang out a trio of howls, nipping at the feet of the caribou and darting off ahead. The unsettled caribou let out a most horrid noise, arching up on their hind legs, before the ground began to shake under a myriad of heavy running. Snow led ahead, laughing as they stayed only inches ahead of the runaway caribou. The entire valley had become a race track with her and the others keeping ahead of the potentially dangerous animals behind them. She glanced to the side at Silver. He had noticed her smiling and laughing, though he wasn't quite sure what for. When he started at her blankly, she rolled her eyes.

"Do as we do, and try not to fall behind, okay?"

"Okay…" His voice was barely audible.

Snow responded with another sweet smile, then howled up in Mick's direction. Mick nodded and the two suddenly fell back so that they were almost swallowed up into the ground of stampeding hooves. Silver turned his head back to see both of them weaving in and out between caribou legs, just barely missing a heavy stomp to the head or the foot. The moment they crossed each other, one of the caribou lost its footing and suddenly went tumbling over, sending a cannon of falls from a few more behind it, the thudding on the earth getting heavier. She laughed and made her way back up to Silver, winking at him. Dangerous. Stupid. But fun.

"Our turn?"

"Yeah…" Silver nodded. He couldn't explain it, but as he and Snow suddenly slowed back, almost overtaken by the canopy of wild-running animals, his body seemed to react instinctively. The two weren't just weaving, but literally soaring in between the legs of any caribou that had come their way, until they almost found themselves deep in the middle, much further than she and Mick had gone. He couldn't really hear the deafening thud of hooves hitting the ground; he could feel Snow. He could read which way she was going to jump; which leg she was going to dodge, and mirrored her in almost every way. When they finally crossed each other, he felt their tails brush as they spiraled out to the sides. There was a loud groan and an entire group of caribou suddenly sailed down to the ground like a row of dominoes.

"Wow, you're pretty good. You've done this before?" Snow pulled back out ahead with Silver shaking his head and flanking her right. It didn't last long; Mick had bumped Silver off to the side to get to Snow. His paws trembled only slightly, but that was all it took for him to go sailing down towards the ground with a thud. His cheek hit hard—he had felt that—but he didn't seem to react to the pain. Snow gasped and, without thinking, leapt backwards.

"Snow!" Mick exclaimed, but knew better than to come to a dead stop, choosing to go off to the side instead. Luna went to the other side, her ears falling and whining loudly.

"Stupid, hurry up! Get out of there!"

But by the time Snow had reached Silver, the impending doom of raging hooves was already close upon them. Silver's ears perked up as he watched her hover over him. His blank eyes had caught the fear that was clear in her own, yet she hadn't moved. They were going to get stepped on. Not that he felt particularly scared. Maybe inquisitive would have been the right way to peg it. He couldn't understand what she was doing. Silver felt a hoof crash down beside him, and suddenly went blank.

Everything in the world around Silver seemed to vanish, as if he had been both dreaming and awake. He couldn't move in this nothingness. Was this what it felt like to be dead, maybe? Had he been trampled to death so fast that he hadn't even felt it coming? And what about…

"Snow…" Her name rolled off of the tip of his tongue, like a warmth kissing the ice. He said it again. And then another time, mulling the name around not only in voice, but in memory; matching it up with those glowing emerald eyes; the sheen of snow-white fur and over-eager friendliness. He thought about her having been fated to being trampled, and it made him…upset? Yes, upset seemed to be right. If anything, it seemed like something he didn't want. …

"Silver….?"

"Uh…?" Silver's vision had suddenly been slapped back into his eyes. A thick cloud of debris had surrounded the area, almost enough to make him cough from taking in so much. But the once thundering valley was now still and quiet. Silver hadn't realized he was standing up, until he felt Snow's paw against his leg. She was cringing beneath him, her eyes darting around in disbelief. The debris finally cleared, and it took her a while to calm down, and realize that they were okay. But the bigger question was _how_ were they okay?

"Snow! Snow, I'm coming!" Mick slid his way down into the valley along with Luna. He bumped Silver aside and took to pressing and nuzzling his head all over Snow's cheek, whining. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"Are you alright, Silver?" Silver's ears perked up, and he almost felt the need to back up. As worried as the expression on Luna's face was, she was only inches away from his face. He nodded, but turned back towards Snow.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Snow pushed Mick's face back and rolled up to her paws. She was still in dismay, though she seemed to be in control. Her gaze turned to Silver and checked him over. Maybe she was thrilled to see that he was okay because her tail started wagging.

"How?" Was all Luna managed to spit out at Snow. Snow's face screwed up in concentration and she rubbed her head for a moment.

"I dunno…they just kinda moved."

"How does a stampeding herd just move?" Mick asked.

"I don't know, I don't know. They just," Snow paused and glanced to Silver. "They just moved, right?"

Silver shrugged silently. Far be it from him to explain yet another blank in his less-than-satisfactory memory. Snow saw that her friends were still expressing worried looks, but she was just happy to be alive and wanted to move past it. She waved her paw almost nonchalantly, then looked up towards the late-evening sky. The adults would start worrying if they didn't check in soon into nightfall.

"It's getting late. Go ahead without me, okay?" Snow said to Luna and Mick, motioning for Silver to follow her. Mick Interjected almost immediately.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, hey, wait a minute!" He leapt and dropped down right in front of Snow, stopping her. "You're going off alone, with _him_?"

"He's not gonna try anything. Right, Silver?" Snow looked back to Silver, but he more or less responded with a trivial stare. That seemed to be enough for Snow and she smiled, proceeding. "See?"

"He didn't say anything!"

"He didn't say he'd try anything either." Snow put her paw on Mick's shoulder. "Don't worry, Mick, everything'll be okay." And with that, she and Silver made their way up the trail that lead out of the valley. Mick scoffed and sat down, folding his arms.

"You're not going to make her like you by being so pushy." Luna grinned and mockingly pat his shoulder. Mick jumped and felt the warmth creep to his face.

"W-who said I was in love with her, huh? Huh?"

Luna shook her head and started off in the other direction. Mick frowned and followed after her.

"Well what's your excuse? You think Silver's so cute—you say that for every one in three boy you meet."

_Fwap_!

Mick's yelp echoed into the air loudly as Luna's paw struck the side of his ear sharply.

Silver loped very close behind Snow, keeping her tail within the reach of his muzzle. They scaled inclining trails and hills, sometimes even cliff sides, going higher and higher into the territory. The ground was becoming more and more rocky the higher they got, until they had emerged out atop a vast cliff overlooking the entire Jasper Park. Silver's ears perked up slightly as he carefully walked over to the edge, gazing down into the dips and valleys below. The sinking sun cast a sea of shadows and light into every crack and crevice like a wavy sea of orange, reds, and blacks. Snow laid down next to him, and motioned for him to sit. He did so almost automatically.

"This is my spot—the place where I come to think or get away from it all." She said, then added, "Well, Luna and Mick come here with me too sometimes, but for the most part, I come up here all by myself."

"What do you do..?" Silver's voice was soft and quiet. Snow looked his way, almost surprised that he even asked. But she smiled and turned back out to the splendorous view before her.

"We talk. Well, I'm the one who does most of the talking."

"About what..?"

"Stuff we've done. The future and our dreams. Like, Mick and Luna dream of being the top omegas in the whole pack." Snow giggled, "But I don't think anyone is going to dethrone my uncle anytime soon, so they have their work cut out for them."

"What about your dream…?" Silver looked down to her. Snow's eyes snapped back to him and she grinned.

"Look who's showing a little bit of interest."

Silver shrugged.

"Well…" Snow's cheeks flushed a soft shade of pink and she scratched her cheek. Out of all the times she had looked him directly in the eyes, she suddenly couldn't help but avert her gaze from him. "Promise you won't laugh?" Silver looked at her. Was she serious? Snow then brandished her paw out over the edge. "There."

Silver blinked, and then gazed down into the land below. He guessed it was something pretty to look at, just wasn't sure what it had to do with anything.

"No, no, not there, there." Snow lifted his chin up, aiming his gaze out beyond the mountainous wall in the distance, to the land in which the sun was slowly sinking behind. "My dream is beyond there. One day…" She placed her paw to her chest, "One day, I want to be able to travel; to see the world and all the different things in it. Like my aunt and uncle did before they became mates…It's a silly dream though. Everyone else thinks so."

"I don't…"

Snow's head snapped up faster than before, and she almost hurt her neck. Silver stared directly down into her eyes; his silver burning into her green, unmoving and unwavering. But it was different. As blank as they were, she could see a glimmer of light, like a faint, almost dying star. It took her a while to comprehend what he had said. The smile had slowly returned to her face, sweet and innocent. She gently placed her paw on top of his.

"That's the first time anyone's ever said that…thanks."

Silver would have responded, but his mind had suddenly blanked again. But it wasn't the same as it had been before. Instead of being visited by a blank nothingness, he found himself sitting on the edge of a bank overlooking a vast, sparkling lake. The sunlight reflected in spades into the green tree leaves above and the jumping fish occasionally flecked his face with cool, clear water. He wasn't really sure where he was, or why he had been there. But him sitting in that spot felt…right. He almost hadn't noticed the larger adult wolf sitting right next to him. It was almost as if he had appeared out of nowhere. Silver let his eyes gaze out to the side towards him. The old wolf hunched over slightly in his seat. His fur was long, rough in some spots, and became a small mane around his neck and cheeks. His eyes, an amber color who's vibrancy had been stricken with age, stayed transfixed on the tranquil scene of water before him. He was talking, but Silver couldn't hear him. He didn't much care to try and decipher his lip movements either. It seemed to go on for a while, until Silver felt something being placed into his paw. The old wolf had strung together rocks that looked like beads of midnight black into a bracelet, enclosing Silver's fingers around them.

"Silver? Are you alright?"

Silver blinked only once, and reality had again come back into focus in only a matter of milliseconds. Snow gave him a rather worried expression.

"Are you okay, Silver?" She repeated, "You're crying…"

Strange. He didn't feel particularly sad. But when he reached his paw up, his claws stopped the trail of a single tear that had run down the side of his cheek. He shook his head slightly; if he couldn't remember, then it couldn't have been something all that important. Snow seemed to think so, her bothered expression still hanging on him. When she was sure he wasn't going to answer him, she sighed and rose to her feet, nudging him up.

"Let's get home. They'll get worried if we're gone too long."

Silver gave a nod of his head and followed the snowy wolf down from the cliff side.

Snow hadn't said much the entire walk so far. Silver didn't make much of an effort to start a conversation either. He had nothing to say, and barely questioned whether or not he should have said something. By now, the sun had already sunken completely behind the horizon, and the dark of night wrapped the sky like a blanket. Snow occasionally glanced back every now and then to check and see if he was following. He was so quiet that if he had gotten lost, she would have barely noticed it. It was a little awkward to be around someone who didn't seem particularly interested in anything. But admittedly, his lack of personality was probably what made him that much easier to talk to. They were still a slight ways off from the den area. Snow knew she was about to hear it from her parents, not to mention overprotective Mick.

_Crunch_

Snow almost automatically wheeled around at the sound of a snapping twig. She could've groaned; it was probably her Aunt Kate coming to retrieve her already. The crunches became louder, closer, and more rapid. Snow's nose wiggled, and she almost felt a growl leap from her throat. The entity moving closer was heavier, and took wider steps. Upon seeing a silhouetted shadow within the distant trees, she could quickly tell that whatever it was had been way too big to be a wolf of any kind. A low, rumbling growl came with a sickening echo from the creature, a thick lump of foreboding forming in Snow's throat. She slowly started to back away, nudging Silver to follow suit. But Silver had tilted his head in curiosity. The form of a large, black-furred bear slowly emerged from the shadows. A trail of drool hung from its razor sharp ivory fangs, and its heavy footsteps surrendered more broken twigs beneath it. It's eyes transfixed hungrily onto the two pups.

"Run…" Snow hissed under her breath. Silver looked at her. She frowned and rammed her head into his side, pushing him onto his toe-tips. "Run!"

"Rooawwwwwwrr!" The ground and the trees shook as the two wolf pups suddenly sprinted off, the bear following close behind their heels. They tore through the grassy trails and barreled through bushes, snagging leaves and sharp twigs into their fur. But that was nothing compared to the massive mound of muscle and fur that was chasing after them. Silver didn't share the same look of panic on his face. His vision continuously moved from Snow, to the bear pounding it's way behind them. Every now and then, Snow could hear the snap of sharp, powerful bear fangs; feel the hot breathing of the bear's breath on their tails, and forced her paws to power her forward even more. She had to find a way—any way—to pull away from their attacker.

Snow's eyes scanned the forest area around her, and her options fell upon a tree in which the branches may have been just low enough for her to make. She barked to Silver and nodded her muzzle out towards the branch, but didn't really have time to see if he understood or not. She leaned her muscles into her run; commanded the alpha blood in her body to obey. With a deep breath, Snow made her leap, high up towards the tree as far as she could. Her paws outreached—and barely managed to scrape her claws against the bark. She yelped, feeling gravity snatch her down from the sky.

"Urk!" Snow hit something soft, and was suddenly being propelled upwards by Silver's muzzle. Her whole body slouched over the tree branch, sinking from her weight. Silver landed onto the branch only seconds later, nudging her up so that she wouldn't fall.

"How?" Snow blinked, but Silver's attention was aimed down at the bear. It let out a ferocious roar and walked to the base of the tree, clawing and clambering it's way up. So much for climbing being a safe haven. Snow was half-tempted to drop back down right on the spot, but her reaction was cut short when she felt herself suddenly being yanked up onto Silver's back. Silver didn't think; he just let his body move. He propelled the both of them from branch to branch, as though he were following some kind of step-ladder pattern. And though the bear had been climbing right behind them, snapping and breaking the boughs, he barely managed to stay out of reach of its razor sharp claws. Snow clung her arms around his neck. Omegas didn't move this way. His coordination, as sloppy as it was taking into account that he was holding her up, had to have been trained somehow.

The bear's frustration grew in intensity, and in one well-placed swing, the branches were hurtled to the ground along with the two wolf pups. Silver tucked Snow against him as they rolled onto the ground, stray branches raining down all over them. Snow had just hobbled up to her feet, when something heavy had knocked both her and Silver down. The bear loomed over them, it's massive body blocking off their escape. Deep, hungry growls rolled from its diaphragm, blowing hot air right into their faces. For a brief second, Snow froze in her place out of fear. But that moment was quickly broken when Silver dug his fangs into the bear's arm, hard enough to cause it to yelp and smack them both away in pain.

Her ears rung, but Snow had forced her body up, and the two were on the move once again. Her head fur swayed wildly in front of her face, and she had to constantly blow it out of the way while making sure that silver was right behind her constantly. She slid around the corner of a cluster of trees, then brandished her paw to her friend, the both of them crawling over to a small hole beneath the overgrown roots. With just a little bit of digging, the two managed to squeeze into it, and burrowed their way until they both fit in. Snow flinched against Silver when the bear dropped down in front of the entrance. Silver moved his body over her, instinctively—he hadn't noticed he had done so until he felt Snow's claws gripping into his sides. The two waited in silence, almost holding their breaths. The snapping and clawing seemed to go on forever. But soon, it had slowed and edged off. The bear gave a grunt, and it's heavy footsteps slowly plodded off. Silver held his paw across Snow to keep her from moving as he waited. She stayed perfectly still.

"…." Silver turned away and began digging through the other side. If there was a chance for the bear coming back, then leaving through the way they came in was not the answer. He pushed his nose out first, then his paws, followed by his body. Snow was close behind him.

"…Is it gone—"

"Rawwwwrrrr!" It was a rather messed up answer to her question, one that sent both her and Silver recoiling across the ground in a last-minute attempt to avoid getting clawed into. The bear's body was curled around the base of the tree, it's claws outstretched and its fangs bared at them. It slowly let off back onto its paws and stalked towards them. Snow scrambled up to her feet, hiding Silver against her as the two of them backed up just as slowly. No growls escaped Silver's throat, but he could feel a ferocity building somewhere inside of him. The bear pressed forward in menacing steps. Further and further the two backed up, until Snow gave a slight yelp when her rump pressed against the side of a cliff. Silver looked up. The cliff curved around the area in a steep, sharp slope. There was no way up, no way around, and definitely no way through. Snow was trembling. But there was a pride in her, a pride passed down from her father, that made her slowly move herself in front of her friend. Silver's expression stayed stone as he looked to her.

"Just…stay behind me, okay..?" Maybe she wasn't aware of how shaky her voice actually was. The bear moved close enough to where it's shadow loomed over them. Its massive, muscular body blocked them on all sides, and they could once again feel the heat and stench of bear breath in their faces. Snow fought the urge to close her eyes. There was nothing she could do. And so she stood, unmoving, as the bear finally lunged with its fangs open towards her neck.

"Ah..!" Silver suddenly clasped his paws over his head. Everything burned. His fur burned right down to his skin, as though he were on fire. His eyes slammed shut and he trembled, almost to the point of whimpering. When he dared to open them, the world around him had washed away into nothing but a sea of flames. The fire encircled the young pup from all sides, closing in on him, licking his arms and tail in the most threatening of ways. He dared to look up—almost as if he were forced to look up—and he could see something or someone slowly making their way from the flames.

The world had washed back, but in slow motion. And the fury of red flames still seemed to lick at the edges of Silver's vision. The look in his silver eyes had been etched with something fierce; a strong force of rage that seemed to overpower the impulses in his body. Or rather, it was like seeing and feeling his body move arbitrarily against his will. Right before the ends of the bears fangs could graze the edge of Snow's throat, Silver leapt out and crashed into it with such and unbelievable overwhelming force, that the bear staggered backwards. Deep, dark growls ripped from his throat and he lowered down in a crouch. His fur was being reflected off of something just slightly—was it the moonlight? He hadn't really noticed that there had been a quarter moon out that night. But with minor details aside, his eyes trained onto every movement the bear made as it tried to recoil to his feet. It wouldn't get that chance. Silver sprang down on top of it and felt his claws sinking down into the skin beyond. His fangs seized the bear's neck, impossibly pinning it down, and his claws started to tear, and twist, and rip. Between the burning and the involuntary movements of his body, Silver hadn't realized he had stopped until he noticed that there had been no more movement beneath him. His fangs, his claws, his fur had been flecked with blood that shown like an unforgiving scar in the moonlight. He slowly released his victim and looked upwards directly into the quarter moon. The flames fanned through his memories every other second, and for some reason, they made him feel angrier and angrier. So much so that he hadn't realized his claws had sunk back into the fallen bear, of which he stood upon like a champion.

"Silver…?" Snow wasn't sure what all had happened. Her eyes had shut the moment she had felt the bear close to her neck. But now, she was amazed to see Silver towering over it, flecked in blood. Perhaps even frightened. She wanted to go closer towards him, but something in her gut bade her to stay back. Instead, she called out his name, just as softly as before.

"…"Silver's gaze fell on her from the side, and she jumped. His eyes—the eyes that were once blank—weren't so much anymore. A coldness had settled around the dying star inside, edged with anger, and maybe even a hint of malice. They were scary to look at, and had she had the wiggle room, she would have backed up even more. Silver's entire head turned her way, followed by his body. In one great leap, he had her pinned on her back, her head pressing up against the side of the cliff.

"Silver, what're you—" Snow suddenly let out a whimper and froze. Sharp claws from the pup above had dug into her shoulders, flecking blood onto her fur. She looked up to him, trembling in fear and so wishing she had avoided looking into his eyes directly. But once she had, there was no turning away. This was worse than the bear. She would have rather been done in by the bear, but not him…

"Silver…"

Silver's fangs slowly opened, leaning down towards her neck. She yelped, feeling them push the nape of her neck. She was going to die. "Silver, Please…"

Seconds had turned into minutes, and minutes had become what seemed like hours. There hadn't been any movement. In fact, there hadn't been any kind of pain. First one eye opened, and then slowly the second one followed. The light of the moon, or rather, the entire moon itself had disappeared, and the sting of claws that were once in her shoulders had somewhat left. Snow looked up. Silver sat in front of her, looking at his paws. His ears were pressed to the sides of his head and his eyes were trembling. What had happened? He didn't understand how he had lost control like that. And if the thought of Snow being trampled to death had upset him earlier, than the thought of him actually hurting her made him feel scared and disgusted. It was as though a wave of emotions that had been hidden from him had finally come crashing down all at one time. He looked up from his paws to Snow, and she flinched.

"…I'm…"

But Snow didn't stick around. She scrambled off and vanished into the bushes. Silver sighed and looked down, his tail curling around his feet. Truth be told, he would have run from himself as well. Maybe there was a reason he had no memories. Maybe he wasn't supposed to remember, because remembering would show what kind of terrible wolf he was, or had been. Though now, they seemed to be taunting him, shooting spasms of emotional pain every time he saw his claws digging into Snow's shoulders, or his fangs close enough to close down onto her throat. With a very heavy sigh, he slowly raised to his paws and loped off, staring at the ground. There might be somewhere secluded off the territory where he could stay so he wouldn't hurt anyone else.

"Silver…"

He almost didn't stop; possibly his thoughts playing a crude joke on him. But when he felt a paw softly rest on his shoulder, his ears and tail perked up and he gazed back. Snow stood next to him, the fear from earlier now absent from her eyes. She shook her head to him. Did she not want him to leave? Just a minute ago, she had run off all too quickly. But it was comforting. He was sure he wanted this. Silver reached up and put his paw on top of hers as gently as he could, looking down. He had to avert the forgiving expression on her face, not feeling like he deserved it. Snow's grip on his shoulder tightened slightly.

"Thanks for saving me. That'd bear would've been picking its teeth if you hadn't."

"I almost…"

"But you didn't." Snow said. But it didn't seem to be that much reassuring to her friend.

"I didn't mean to…" Silver muttered. Snow didn't have to explain it to herself. Somehow, she could tell that he hadn't. And that was enough for her. She nudged him.

"Silver, let's get back—"

"I promise."

Snow tilted her head. Silver's voice was different. It was firm, a little stronger than before, with an inflection of personality. His grip on her paw became warm and when he looked up to her, she almost gasped. His eyes showed life, no longer edged in anger or rage. It was as though something had woken him up, and she was now truly seeing him for the first time. He turned to face her and let his paw slowly move down to her shoulder where he had hurt her. She winced, and he was half tempted to draw back, gingerly pressing his fingertips against the wound. He sighed and his ears sank down lower.

"It's okay." Snow smiled softly and pushed one of his ears up. Silver ignored it.

"I'm not sure what kind of wolf I was before…I can't say I was a really good one. But you made me a promise, so I want to make you one too…Snow. I promise…I won't ever endanger you again…I promise."

Snow was taken aback slightly, and it took her a few moments to respond. But when she did, she smiled sweetly and nodded to him, her tail swishing behind her. The smile had to be infectious, because Silver felt his maw turning up in the corners to something that felt almost unnatural. Snow giggled and turned off from him.

"You should do that more, Silver. I like it."

Silver shook his fur out of embarrassment until the smile had worn off . His eyes followed the slight bouncing movement of Snow's walking from behind until he decided to make off after her. Everything felt different than it had a few moments ago. He still felt bad, but something about him following after Snow; being around her and knowing that she didn't completely hate his guts made things okay. The question of who he had been was suddenly unimportant, and he decided to put it away out of his mind. Because now he had a promise to keep; he had something to be for the wolf pup who was playfully walking up ahead of him. And that thought made him feel warm towards the wolf who had openly welcomed him.

"If anyone asks, it was the bear, alright?" Snow nudged her head to her shoulder. Silver nodded with agreement and quickly went up to walk at her side, gingerly licking the area he had hurt. Snow didn't seem to mind, and the two of them made their way towards the den area.

"A bear?" Kate seemed to be keeping her cool, but it was easy to tell that she was very angry. She and Humphrey sat across from Lilly and Garth, who were worriedly tending to their wounded pup. Lilly had almost completely hidden her between them, and Garth, who also seemed to be trying his best to mirror his alpha partner, eyed her protectively as if something else was bound to barge into the den and attack her. Silver wasn't sure how he actually felt about the situation as he sat in the corner of the den. Sure, there had really been a bear attack, but blaming the claw marks on the bear itself only seemed to slap the truth of the matter in his face. One of the black-and-white furred wolves leapt up into the den, bowing his head in respect as he approached Kate and Garth. He had barely waited for their nod of permission before he began to speak, not caring to keep the conversation down from within earshot.

"There were bears that passed by through the territory, but they had no intention of staying."

Kate slapped her paw down. "That doesn't make sense. They shouldn't be this close down, something's gotta be wrong. We haven't had any kind of trouble like this in the past."

The wolf nodded and frowned seriously. "They're bears that have come from the north. News of fires spreading along had reached them, and so they decided to move until the threat was manageable."

"Fires…"

Silver's ears shot up and he found himself backing into the corner just a little bit more than he had intended. Kate's, Garth's, and just about everyone else in the den had in some way or another chanced a glance his way, and now that he was more comprehensive of himself, it made him feel very uncomfortable. He tilted his head.

"…?"


	2. Leap of Faith, Part 1

I just wanna thank the people who have supported this story so far. I really loved the movie, and so in turn, really love this story, and it makes me happy to see other people love it as well. On another note, chapter 2 was running a little long, so what I decided to do was split it up into two parts. Enjoy, everyone

Silver Snow

_**Chapter 2, Part 1: Leap of Faith**_

It had been the first sign of long sunlight in a while, but surely and slowly, the glowing orb of light made its rise into the air. The warm rays of light had melted the last of the winter snow, and now only flecks of slush drifted off of the tree leaves and down onto the wet, green grass. Flowers budded in small groves here and there, and the birds flitted musically through the air in celebration of the long-awaited awakening of the spring time season.

"One, two, three…one, two three…one, two, three, four…" Silver took his sweet time as he made his way across the trail in an almost nonchalant pattern. He had walked this familiar trail so many times before that the fact that he was now doing so with his eyes completely shut wasn't even a problem. He had certainly grown over the course of the past winter. A full-fledged wolf, he stood tall, proud, and strong. At a glance, a stranger would have mistaken him for an alpha wolf as opposed to his omega status. He had let his head fur grow, so that it hung just barely over his face—possibly in mock to Snow's style—and the burn marks that had once branded his fur were now completely gone.

"One, two, three…one, two, three…" Silver muttered to himself, then came to a stop. His ears perked up, and he suddenly dropped, just as something white streaked overhead and crash-landed into a nearby tree.

"Aph!" Snow recoiled down to the ground, landing on her back, and curled her paws up with her tongue sticking out. Her body lay perfectly motionless. But Silver just shook his head.

"Not gonna work."

"…" Snow responded with a dead stillness. Silver grinned and arched his back, whipping his tail up into the air slightly. With a mighty heave, he pushed himself through the air, aiming down towards his friend from above.

"Ha!" One of Snow's eyes opened; her foot raised up and caught Silver by the chest, rolling him overhead and sending him sprawling. He crash-landed into the tree with a thud, and soon came teetering down dizzily next to her.

"Okay, how'd you manage to pull that off, _again_?" Silver rolled over onto his stomach and turned his gaze towards Snow. He hadn't been the only one who had grown during the winter. His playful friend was now a strong, beautiful she-wolf—who still happened to think in terms of being a pup. But he liked that about her. Snow could make anything and everything fun, regardless.

"Would you believe me if I said I controlled little green wolves that force you to fall for anything I do?"

"No,"

"Then let's chalk it up to natural-born talent." Snow playfully pushed her paw across his face.

"Pfth, natural-born show-off." Silver smiled—he knew she liked that because every time he did, her eyes would light up—and placed his paw on her head. Snow gasped and quickly jerked back from him, tail wagging.

"No. Every time you do that, you mess it up."

"Awww, lighten up," Silver tackled Snow, but she squirmed, playfully working and wriggling out of her friend's grip. Silver teasingly bade her to hold still, taking every chance he could to keep her head from dodging his paw. He eventually came to pin her up against a tree, where his paw slapped down on her head and started ruffling through her head fur wildly.

"Silver!" Snow tried to sound mad, but her giggle betrayed her. By the time Silver was done, her head fur frizzed out in almost every direction as though she had just waken up from a bad night of sleep. She frantically began to shake and rub it back into its natural directions, and Silver just sat there, smiling as he watched her do so. She tried to frown. "Do you have something against my fur?"

"I like it." Silver said simply.

"Well it doesn't like you." Snow teased, but truth be told she only avoided it to give Silver a hard time.

"I beg to differ."

"Oh no you don't!" Snow yipped and was suddenly on her feet, smacking Silver's nose playfully with her tail as she ran off. He was going to have to catch her first. Silver let his eyes follow the to-fro of Snow's hindquarters while he followed at a sprint. The two laughed joyously while they dashed along the trails of the forest, practically racing each other from tree-end to tree-end. Every now and then, Snow would pull out ahead to give Silver another flicker of her tail, which was eventually discarded as a bad idea when he took to biting and tugging it every other time she did so. Silver felt the corners of his mouth being constantly turned up, which didn't feel so unnatural anymore nowadays. He had grown considerably, not just in physical appearance, but as his own self. He laughed a lot more; had come to care for his rather large pack, and had come to care deeply for Snow. Even if he still couldn't remember anything about who he had been, it had long since stopped being important. Snow kept him up, and therefore, kept him happy.

"Is this a private race, or can I join?"

Silver and Snow were apart by Luna. She winked at Silver, and he almost felt the nostalgic return of one of his trivial stares. It wasn't that he didn't like her, per say—she was a good friend. But she had the absolute worse timing to show up out of nowhere.

"You're looking good today, Silver."

"Uhm, thanks?" Silver blinked, but his attention had only lasted on Luna for a second when he saw that Snow had once again begun pulling away. He barked and began to ride Snow's heels.

"Snoowwww!"

A loud thud rang into Silver's ears and the next thing he knew, he was spiraling along the ground with another furry entity that had crashed into his side. Silver and Mick tumbled through sticky shrubs, rolling past the trees, and the two girls only had time to slid to a stop just as a loud splatter sounded into the treetops. Terrific, he had landed smack-dab in the middle of a large mud puddle, no doubt created from the recent onslaught of rain showers. So why did his fur feel so dry? As a matter of fact, not a fleck of mud had touched even the white fur of his paw tips.

"Eroff meh..!"

"Hm?" Silver's ears perked up at a gurgling, but by the time he had realized it was coming from underneath him, he was hurtled out onto the grass with a loud thud. Mick sat up, waist-deep in the mud and covered from head to toe. It had been so thick on him that even when he tried to shake it off, more simply sopped over his face. Snow and Luna couldn't help but snicker, especially when he had tried to stand up and ended up falling face-first back into the thick.

"N-nice job, _Sliver_!" He spat. Silver frowned. It wasn't always easy for him to get along with Mick. He sat up and looked back at him, and almost wished he hadn't. His paw pressed to his maw in some attempt to stifle his laughter.

"It's Silver. And I didn't do anything."

"Whatever!" Mick flared, then almost immediately cooled off when his attention had turned to Snow. He frantically shook as much mud off of his fur as he possibly could. Silver hadn't noticed it earlier, but he seemed to be holding some kind of flower in his mouth. Or rather, what was left of it. Steeped in mud, the stem lay limp between his fangs and all but one petal had fallen off. Mick waddled his way over to Snow and poked his muddy chest out proudly.

Snow had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, and even moreso when Mick leaned the less-than-a-flower over to her. But Silver couldn't hold it and ended up rolling onto his back in laughter. It mustn't have taken Mick long to realize why, because the stem had suddenly bounced off of Silver's head.

"Yuck it up, Mr. No-sense-of-humor wolf!"

Silver stopped laughing and his frown returned. Snow quickly jumped to Silver's defense.

"Mick, that's a little mean." She said.

"Seriously, what kind of Omega can't break up even a simple fight between pups?" Mick interjected. Snow and Luna were suddenly on either side of Silver, frowning.

"He's trying!" They had said together. Mick took a disgusted step back, clearly outnumbered once again. He grumbled and took to shaking the mud off the ends of his paws. Silver wasn't really sure he deserved such a strong defense. Truth be told, as an Omega, he sucked. He wasn't funny and felt as though it just wasn't in his nature to be able to break up any kind of squabble. For the most part, he usually ended up making it worse if anything.

"It's mine, you mutt!"

"No, I had it first you filthy dog!"

The sound of snapping and whining ripped through the air like a crack of lightning, causing all four wolves to avert their attention to the side. Snow was the first to stand at the edge of a cliff, gazing down into the grassy clearing below. The two wolves at the bottom were practically head to head with each other, circling and letting out whip-like snarls from deep within their throats. Their eyes locked, waiting for the other to give a reason to be ripped limb from limb. Wedged between their fangs was a bone with several thick scraps of meat clinging to it. It was surprising that something had even been left over from yesterday's hunt.

"You western wolves are so greedy." The wolf with a rather large nose and red fur's voice became dangerously low.

"You eastern wolves are still the same as always—you think every bit of food is branded with your name on it!" The wolf opposing snapped, the sun bouncing off a particularly splotched patch of white on his gray fur. Snow let out a sigh, and from the same reaction from her friends, she knew that they had been thinking the same thing she was. Though there was no need for such an old rivalry, every now and then it would inadvertently show itself again.

"Alright, omegas," Mick flecked the last of the mud off his ears, "Time to do what we do best." Silver, Snow, and Luna nodded, but as Silver jumped to slide down the side of the cliff, Mick held his paws out before the girls, keeping them from proceeding forward. He nodded his head down towards the midnight-furred wolf and then laid down with his paws crossed. "Let's see how well he does. Snow and Luna didn't look too thrilled at first—they knew this was probably payback for the mud incident. But still, Snow sat at the edge of the cliff, keeping her eyes close on her best friend and muttering words of confidence she knew he wasn't able to hear. Silver dug his claws into the rock cliff to keep himself from descending too fast. His body commanded nimble, coordinated movements, so that his slide all the way to the jump awarded him with an almost perfect, painless landing. The two wolves had already begun a dangerous tug-of-war right before him, slapping their clawed-paws against each other's muzzle and tugging harder to see which would give first. Silver took a deep breath.

"Okay, Snow, any idea—" He suddenly felt nervous. He looked to the left, then to the right, realizing that no one else had made their way behind him. He looked back up, just in time to see Mick brandishing his paw and urging him to continue. Silver frowned and mouthed, "Yeah, real fair!" but he knew he was on his own. The wolf turned to the problem before him, stood erect, and began to proceed with a deep breath.

"Ahem,"

There was no response. Silver put his paw to his maw and cleared his throat a little louder, and when that dind't work, he resolved himself to a well-sounded bark. The two bickering wolves only gave him the grace of their eyes parting from the squabble.

"Come on, guys, seriously? Fighting over a little scrap of meat like that? Don't you have something better to do?"

"Beat it!" Strike one. Silver scratched his head, then took it upon himself to try and get between them. They growled, but he ignored it.

"Instead of fighting, focus on something else. Like…" He looked around. "Uhm…" They snarled, eying him angrily. "Err…well, look at the snoz on this guy. I mean, sheesh—I'm surprised he can even see over his own face, let alone see you!" The red-furred wolf gave a warning growl, but the other seemed to chuckle a bit.

"Yeah, he does have a big honker there."

"And this guy," Silver patted the gray wolf's shoulder, "That white patch—doesn't he look like someone just threw up all over his back?"

The laughing stopped. Silver shrank back, now that both eyes had turned to stare at him angrily.

"Why you little—"

"Ah!"

The wolves dropped the scraps and fly-tackled Silver down, rolling and tussling the younger wolf into a slightly painful if not somewhat comical submission. He pushed away from them, at least trying to avoid being bitten in the wrong places (but letting out a pleading yelp when a foot struck him somewhere…unpleasant). When he felt himself being slammed down to the ground, he repeatedly patted his paw on the grass.

"I get it! I _get it_! It wasn't that funny—ouch—okay, not funny at all! Somebody tag me out!"

Meanwhile, Mick was on his back atop the cliff, roaring with laughter. It was only a shame that Snow and Luna hadn't joined in with him. Instead, they both sported rather worried looks for their friend being wrestled down below.

"T-that's so horrible—but I'll give him credit. At least he got them to stop fighting each other!" Mick exclaimed.

Snow shook her head. She couldn't watch anymore and took to sliding down the cliff as fast as she safely could.

"Come on," Luna leapt down, and Mick reluctantly followed after her. Snow dropped down first and bounced the forgotten bone scraps into her paw. She held it over her head and let out a loud, sharp whistle; the wolves almost instantly dropped Silver (who scrambled away on his belly as quickly as possible) and turned their attention not to her, but to the food. She grinned—this was going to be too easy. Her tail waved just out of eyesight of the two, and Mick suddenly dropped down, tackling her over.

"I saw that first, pup!"

"Bite me, mud-pooch!"

Mick frowned for a second, but quickly went back into character. "You wanna start some trouble, foofy-hair?"

"Bring it on, mutt!"

"Bear-breath!"

"Chihuahua!"

"Snow!" Mick hissed and whispered to where it was barely audible, "I thought we agreed no more Chihuahua jokes!"

"Mick!" Snow protested, indicating that they didn't have the time to discuss it. Mick turned her over and kicked her square in the rump, so that she fell forward on her chest. The scrap soared and he caught it between his fangs. But it had only remained in his possession for a hot second. Luna came sliding from out of nowhere, crashing Mick into a nearby tree and reclaiming his find.

"Both of you can shove it—this is mine." Snow and Mick rolled back onto their feet, and the three wolves were pressed at the heads, circling each other in a chorus of seemingly real and very threatening growls. They tried hard to keep from giggling; Snow knew they didn't have to read each other's minds to be a success. Even if the entire thing was improvised, the other two could follow suit as though they had spent days rehearsing it. Snow was the first to leap into Luna, and all three of them were suddenly wrestling each other, the scrap bone bouncing from mouth to mouth like a ping-pong ball. The trio crashed into trees and rolled over shrubs, eventually knocking a friend out of the tumble only to have them bounce back into the fray seconds after. By now, Silver and the two once fighting wolves were sitting down in ring-side seats for the show. There was a loud snap, and the scrap bone rolled out from under the trio, broken in half. Snow let out an exaggerated sigh and rolled Mick and Luna off of her.

"That's not gonna work, now is it? There's only two pieces and three of us." She put her paw to her cheek and motioned at the two wolves with the other. They looked to her, then to each other before walking over and taking up one piece of the broken bone. The solution had been simple, and apologies were exchanged silently before they parted ways.

"That's how it's done." Mick said, slapping high paws all around while he and his friends laughed in triumph. Silver rubbed the back of his head. He truly felt that all the training in the world couldn't turn him into some kind of peacekeeper. But the sight of the resolved conflict between the wolves made him smile. And the fact that he knew his friends could always be counted on made him feel even better.

"High paws for you too." He didn't realize how close Snow had gotten until she was right upon him. Her paw was held up with an expectant smile on her face. Silver shook his head.

"I didn't do anything. I don't deserve any high paws today." Silver stated simply. Snow shook her head at him with something of a disappointed look on her face.

"You set them up for us by—"

"Getting your butt kicked."

"By getting them warmed up." Snow corrected Mick and then wiggled her paw, "So high paws for you too. Come on, you know you want to."

Silver snorted playfully, but with a roll of his eyes, he slapped his paw to Snow's, then went on to ruffle her head fur. This time, she didn't pull away. "Thanks, Snow."

The bushes nearby had ruffled and Silver's gaze turned just in time to see Humphrey emerging from the green. The wolf had an approving grin on his face, and when he had reached the younger generation, he too slapped them several high paws. Silver could only surmise that he had been watching the entire time, and therefore felt even more guilty when Humphrey had counted him in the praise.

"That was pretty good—If I'm not careful, you're gonna put me out of a job soon." He said jokingly. Silver rubbed the back of his head. Humphrey must've guessed what he was thinking, because he had patted a paw on his head. "You'll get the hang of it soon, especially if you keep sticking around the wolf stooges here." It wasn't reassuring. The 'soon' should have been an entire season ago. Humphrey extended another congratulation to them before walking off, probably to go check on another group. The moment he was out of eyesight, Snow let out a sigh—a real sigh. Her ears drooped slightly and she placed her paw on her cheek, halfway gone in her thoughts. Mick made his way over to her and tapped his paw to hers.

"Aww, what's wrong? We just got praised for a good run and you're the only one getting depressed about it."

"It's not really the compliment." Snow said, "It's just…well, is this really all we have to look forward to for the rest of our lives?"

"What're you talking about?" Mick asked her, "It's our dream to be the best omegas in the pack—we have that to look forward to."

"But then what, Mick?" Snow looked at him, almost as though her eyes were pressing the male to answer. When he didn't, she shook her head and paced away from the group a little. Luna knew exactly where snow was going with this, and let out a soft sigh under her breath.

"If this is about you 'escaping' to see the world again…I thought you were past that already?' Snow didn't answer. Instead, she gazed upwards beyond the tent of leaves that the tree branches had presented and into the sky above. It looked like graying rainclouds were once again imposing themselves across the deep blue, and the stench of on-coming spring showers had begun to fill the air rather quickly. Snow wanted a closer look, over the trees, over the rocks; over her walls, and took to trying to climb one of the nearby trees. But when she fell short, it was Silver who had nudged her up into a lower branch with his muzzle before hopping up to take a spot next to her. He didn't say anything much, but rather leaned over and looked at her, gauging her expression.

"You still think it's not silly?" She asked after a while. Silver was indifferent. He didn't think it was the greatest idea in the world. He liked the peace and the routine; the assurance of waking up to something secure and homey, though he couldn't really quite explain why. He also didn't think Snow's dream was the worst idea either.

"Of course I don't." Silver told her, and moved his paw to lift her chin up slightly. It didn't seem to comfort her much though. She seemed pretty resolved to the fact that she was never going to be able to see what lay beyond the walls of her territory. Silver turned away from her, out towards the quickly graying sky. "One day, when we grow a little more, I'll go see the world with you, Snow."

"Don't encourage her, please." Mick called up to them. He had meant it teasingly, but hadn't realized how harsh it actually sounded until Luna had hissed something to him about it.

Snow snorted. "Okay."

"I mean it." Silver insisted. Snow waited until he had turned her way to look into the silver of her best friend's eyes, searching for traces of mock attitude. She didn't find it. His eyes were strong, and honest, and reassuring. He was really serious about it, and that alone made her smile. She nodded in agreement, but blocked him when he went to ruffle her fur yet again.

"Stop that."

"Heh, couldn't help myself." Silver curled the corners of his maw up just slightly. When Mick was sure he had seen enough (indicated by the many unsubtle snorts and grunts he made), he turned around to walk off from his friends.

"We should go already. Don't wanna stick around here any longer when we could be finding fights to break up. I bet we can catch some of the younger pups in a mess."

Luna slapped her paw to her face as she followed. "Dude, we're not supposed to be encouraging the fights just to have a chance to break them up." Silver gave Snow another searching expression. She was flattered, and when she had indicated that she was alright, the two of them dropped down from their spot and made off after their friends.

* * *

By the time Silver, Snow, Luna, and Mick had begun to return to the den area for the afternoon, the sky was already darkened by storm clouds, and a light sheen of rain began to coat the land in water. The wind had picked up, swaying the lightest of tree branches in low, eerie creaking sounds, and the warmth from the open arms of spring had been stunted temporarily. But as the quartet of young wolves returned home, they could almost immediately tell that something wasn't quite right. Wolves were muttering under their breaths, looking down at their paws or huddled up in their dens. The majority of them seemed to have been gathered around Kate and Lilly's den. A look of curiosity branded Snow's face as she took off to meet her parents. Silver, however, made his way towards one of the lower-level dens where he had been staying. He could easily make out Anna's figure and knew she had been waiting up for him. The female omega stood quite tall, her black fur rough in some parts, but smooth everywhere else. It was her who had become something of a mother figure to Silver since the pack had taken him in.

"What's going on?" Silver sat down next to her. He didn't mind when she automatically began to groom the rough spots on his own fur. Since Anna couldn't have pups of her own, she would most likely always see Silver as her baby.

"It's Eve…She's gotten sick again. It looks like it's worse this time…"

Silver cast a worried glance up towards the alpha's den. Snow had been doing a good job about not worrying about her grandmother before, especially when it seemed like she was getting better. So how was she holding up now..? Silver jumped from his thoughts when he felt Anna's muzzle nudge him forward. He looked back at her, as if trying to say there wasn't much he could do, but she motioned for him to continue on towards the den of his friend. A low roll of thunder growled across the sky as the black-furred wolf loped across the grounds and up the incline to the alpha's den. He shoved his way through bystanders, and the moment he had made it into the mouth of the den, Snow had nearly crashed into him, hiding against his fur. Mick, who was sitting just a short ways away from them, growled, but Luna flicked his ear. Now wasn't really the time for that. Silver placed his paw on Snow's head and chanced a glance inside.

Eve was pressed against the wall on a large pile of soft-looking leaves. Her fur color had paled from a vibrant gold to a sullen yellow, and he was sure he could see her body visibly twitch every now and then. She coughed hard, which caused Lilly and Kate to stir next to her in extreme worry. Humphrey and Garth could only try to comfort their mates as best as they could while trying not to give into the worry themselves. But if anyone had looked as though they were about to drop, it was Winston. He hovered over his mate as though something might come in and take her away at any moment. His graying fur had possibly gotten more gray, and strands poked out in wild ends due to stress.

"Why did this have to happen…?" Snow whispered under her breath. "She seemed fine a few days ago…" Silver let his tail slowly embrace his friend, his ears lowering. Had he answers to give, he would've offered them all too eagerly. Helplessness riddled Snow's entire figure, and the only thing she could resolve to was gripping clumps of Silver's fur with her claws. Winston sighed and ran his nose through Eve's fur, and Kate was looking more and more frustrated by the minute.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" She asked, wincing when her mother gave another harsh cough. A red-furred wolf slowly paced his way beyond the crowd of wolves, making his way past Silver and Snow and into the den. He was about as elderly as Winston, and walked in such a slow pace that truly indicated he was getting on in years. The old wolf came to take his seat next to Winston, his expression looking grave.

"I have heard of something like this before, a long time ago. It is a sickness that occurs within the elderly, usually due to a contaminant in food or water." At this, Kate gasped, then hung her head low, as did the rest of her hunting alpha team. A twist of guilt, confusion, and angst branded her face. She started to blame herself, but Eve shook her head with what little strength she had, stating that it wasn't her fault. Not that that was all that reassuring, especially after another wicked cough that followed. Winston's head snapped up to the older wolf. His eyes were heavy and pleading.

"Is there anything we can do, Tony…?"He asked.

Tony made a gesture with his paw as he recanted an almost long-forgotten memory. "I haven't actually seen it…so I can't really say that this is going to work. But there was talk a long time ago about a certain plant being able to stop the spread of this sickness. A flower that grows in the north with petals of silver and the ability to survive and grow through any season for an entire cycle." He let his paws rub the brim of his muzzle out of stress, "If there is anything to be done, then finding this flower would be it. But the journey is long and very dangerous. And…" He hesitated, "We…may not make it in time."

Kate's head immediately snapped up, and she could tell by the look on Lilly's face that she knew what she had been thinking. She didn't object, at least not openly. Without a word, without even another thought, she turned and almost ran off, had not Winston called out to her.

"Kate, you can't, especially not by yourself." Winston's words had only been half-hearted, torn between responsibility for his pack and the concern for his beloved mate. Kate wasn't hearing it, and Winston had to bade Tony to stand in her way.

"Dad!"

"Kate, this has to be done by someone else."

"I'm going to do this for mom—I have to!" Kate exclaimed. Winston rose and walked over to his daughter. He could see the stubborn, proud will he had passed down to her deep in her eyes. This wasn't going to be easy.

"Kate, you are not a pup anymore. You know you have a responsibility to this pack and can't go running off to who-knows how far."

"So I just sit here and do nothing while mom suffers."

"You stay strong for the pack."

"When I could be out there looking. You just want me to standby!"

"I'm not saying that—"

"Then let me go while I can still do something about it—"

"KATE!" Winston wasn't aware of whether it was his whip-like bark or the simultaneous crash of thunder from the rain that caused everyone around him to jump. There was a long, awkward silence. He sighed and placed his paws on Kate's shoulders.

"I know you're frustrated, Kate…and we're going to save her. But you cannot be the one to go. The pack needs both you and Garth here to lead them." Kate let out a sigh at her father's words, but solemnly nodded her head in agreement. Snow hadn't expected an idea to creep into her head, but when it did, she sat up abruptly. The helpless feeling that clung like ice to her chest had disappeared. She could do it. She could be the one to bring the medicine her grandmother needed, instead of just sitting around doing nothing about it. This was her family, and she could take responsibility for it just as well as anyone else could. Snow shifted away from Silver and stepped across to her grandfather. She tried not to look at her parents; between Lily's and Garth's overprotective wishes for their pups, they'd have probably just made her too nervous to go through with it. She motioned for her grandfather's attention, and then spoke once she had it.

"I can do it."

"No you can't." Garth's voice was like an instant brick wall to Snow's. And judging by all the worried eyes of her family locking onto her, they silently agreed. Snow frowned.

"I can—I can do it. She's my grandma and I really wanna help."

"We all want to help, Snow…" Lilly went to lay her muzzle on Snow's head in a comforting manner, but her daughter moved away from her reach.

"You're all treating me like a pup, but I'm a member of this pack too. I'm family—I can help!" She exclaimed.

Winston, having already been worn by calming Kate down, let out another long sigh. He didn't have the fortitude or patience to try and explain anymore reasons to the stubborn generation after. He held up his paw, at a loss for words, the expression grim on his face, and then went to lay down next to his still shuddering mate. Snow gazed around to everyone in the den. Stress had stricken every weary face, and all they could manage to do was sigh or avert their gaze. Snow turned to Humphrey for some kind of support, but even her happy-go-lucky uncle just shook his head to her. It shouldn't have been such a slap to the face. In the back of her mind, she knew this was the answer she was going to receive. But it still made her mad. When it came down to it, it didn't matter how confident she felt in what she could do. Snow's ears fell. They were done listening and she was done talking, and took off. Silver automatically followed after her.

* * *

The rain had come in full force, inviting a premature gale that caused the tree boughs to sway. Snow had made her way as far as to the river before stopping to lay along the bank side. Rainwater drenched her entirely, so that her head fur hung in frayed, limp ends across her face, but she didn't care. Nor did she seem to care of the agitated splashing coming from the body of water. All Snow could focus on was how aggravating everything was starting to make her. Did thinking that she could do anything for her grandmother considered being 'just a dreamer' too? The rushing water almost completely obscured her reflection along the river surface and a twinge of slight disgust riddled her. Snow slapped her reflection with her paw.

"Snow…" Snow wasn't surprised when Silver suddenly plop down beside her. However, she wouldn't meet his eyes, therefore closing her own from him. "Everyone's worried about you."

"Maybe if they did a little less of that, there wouldn't be a problem." Snow snapped, then quickly wished she hadn't. Silver didn't seem to mind.

"I understand, Snow…I really do. I know you just want to help—"

"No, you don't." Snow raised to a sitting position. Silver could see her claws digging into the fresh grass and mud. "No one understands that I'm a part of this pack. No one understands that I'm capable. No one understands that I'm not a pup or _just_ an omega, or that I'm not just a dreamer." She paused. There was another clap of thunder, loud to the point of almost making her jump. Drops of water streamed down from her face as the sky relentlessly showered down on the two of them. "There's so much possibility…if only I get the chance to try." Snow finished. A serious frown spread on Silver's face, and his ears stood erect despite the fact that the rain continued to try and drench them down. Sometimes, he thought Snow truly forgot who was on her side; who had been since the day they met.

"That's not true." Silver spoke. Snow didn't turn around. He shook his head in disbelief, trying to find the right words that could get through to his best friend. "Everyone gets their chance, Snow. So you think different, or so you're a dreamer. None of that means I don't understand. You think you have it hard, but no one's really ganging up on you. Everyone is just worried, about you and about Eve. And I'm always worrying over you. You can't say I don't understand."

Snow dropped her eyes to her paws. If she had felt bad for snapping it him, now she felt considerably worse. Still, there was a nagging in the back of her thoughts and she had to ask.

"You don't believe I can do it either, do you..?"

"Of course I do." Snow felt Silver's paw gently fall on top of hers. His claws caressed hers so very gently out of the mud. "I believe it if you say you can do it. I always do. But I don't want you to get hurt. That's why we've gotta wait till we're more…seasoned." He mulled the word around in his head to make sure it was right, then added, "You believed in me. I was blank—a nothing. And you didn't stop believing until I became a someone." Snow looked at her paw, and then to him. The silver of his eyes always seemed so pure and clear whenever he spoke to her like that; as though she could believe anything he said to her. It made her feel considerably better, but she only showed in a nod before laying back down on the wet grass. Silver laid his head down onto her back. The wind had all but completely obscured her scent, so that she smelled something like a wet rug. And as if the rainwater wasn't enough, the river banks were starting to overflow from all the constant raining, teasing even more water at the two. The two laid there for a while, watching driftwood sail like tiny oddly-shaped rafts down the turbulent river surface. When it had gotten too wet and too cold, Silver could feel Snow wiggling underneath him for warmth. It made his chest feel warm and tight, and gave him the urge to pull her closer.

"Hellppp! Someone help me!" The voice had been riddled with coughs and sputters, and nearly drowned out by the rain and wind, but they had still heard it. Wild splashing followed from upriver, and in the distance, the two wolves could just barely make out a bobbing muzzle being tossed and rolled about through the water. Snow and Silver reluctantly broke away from their huddle, practically leaping onto their feet. The powerful, churning current carried a small pup down, smacking him against the bank walls. Whenever he found a rock or edge to cling to, the water would quickly yank him away.

"Hold on!" Snow barked and she and Silver broke into a sprint along the river side. They were fast, but the rapids were faster, dunking the floating pup under several threatening times. Neither she nor Silver had any clue on what they were going to do, or if there was even anything they could do. Silver's eyes darted around wildly, sifting through the rain that matted his head fur to find anything they could use. It was Snow who had come up with an idea first, snatching up a long branch that the wind had snapped off a nearby tree. Silver protectively followed her very closely as she made her way to the slippery edges of the bank. Snow had trouble balancing the end of the thick bit of wood in her mouth. Several times she felt like dropping it, especially when she began to graze the other end into the surface of the river out towards the pup.

"Grab on!" Silver barked.

When the pup came crashing towards the ledge, he let out a scared whimper, but nonetheless reached his fangs for the branch. He fastened them securely—for about ten seconds before a splash of river water came smacking down on top of him, pummeling him into the depths below. Snow recoiled. Her paws slid out of control and the branch had struck her cheek as it flipped out of her maw. She felt herself slipping; tumbling from the loss of traction from the wet grass and plummeting towards the cold water.

The splash never came. Instead, sharp pain jolted in her tail. Silver grunted, yanking Snow back up on her feet before nudging her side up with his head to prompt her to run again. The two of them panted, dashing side by side in a race against the rushing water. Silver's head bounced around in almost every direction. He could tell that Snow was having a hard time coming up with a second option as well out the corner of his eye. By now, the pup's struggling had become less vigorous. They had to come up with a plan fast.

Silver's ears eventually shot up like a bullet. His gaze had fallen far beyond the wet trails and manic-swaying shrubbery to a tree in the distance. The giant plant had already been rotting with age for the longest time and leaned over the water path like a looming shadow. Its base was severely splintered and looked as though it could fall at any time at the mercy of the elements. It was perfect.

"Follow me!" Silver's paws dug hard into the ground and he began to run at a full blown sprint. His midnight fur moved like a deep black blur through the heavy rainfall, but Snow had no problem keeping up with him. They had fallen well ahead of the pup who was so frantically trying to keep his head above water. Silver's momentum hadn't stopped until he found himself ramming his shoulder dead into the base of the tree he had targeted. The base shuddered, but failed to give way. He barked for Snow to assist him, and the two were repeatedly crashing and slamming into the old wooden giant. Loud thuds came in super reverbs when their shoulder-slamming came coupled with the thunder. The old tree wailed. Splinters flew in large chunks as it stubbornly refused to yield to either of the young wolves. Silver grunted and took a long step back. He could see the pup flailing helplessly closer and closer, and gauging just how fast he seemed to be moving towards them, they would soon be out of time. He closed his eyes; allowing his claws to dig into the ground; allowing his ears to shut off every unnecessary sound from the crash of thunder to the splashing rapids before him. He took a deep breath, commanding all his strength, and launched himself heavily into the old tree.

A loud, screeching snap tore through the air. The rotting wood cried as it crumbled under the weight of the wolves, crashing down across the river line to the other side like a bridge. Snow didn't waste time. She bolted up atop the tree and practically slipped off the side on blind faith. She was well rewarded when the sting to her tail returned from Silver snapping his fangs down onto it. The water splashed into her nose to the point where she felt she could've drowned by just being near it. Snow pushed her fur away from her face long enough to see the pup crashing her way. Relieved that he was even still moving, she reached her maw down as far as she could, fastening her fangs onto the nape of his neck. The pup sputtered, hacking water out of his lungs.

"'Ot 'im!" Snow exclaimed.

"P-peachy," Silver's maw trembled. It was one thing to just hold Snow up, and something completely different to have to do it while balancing on slick, wet wood. "Now tell him to 'urry up!"

"Can you climb up?" Snow asked the pup. He was tired. He was wet and looked like he had taken on a lot of water. But apparently, he was capable for he began to claw his way up Snow's body like some kind of step ladder. Silver felt Snow's tail inching from his maw. His tail gave an impatient twitch and his silver eyes bore down into the pup's, pressing him to hurry. It was a bad idea. The pup jumped and came springing up Snow's body and onto his maw. His foot struck Silver's nose, and he yelped from the sting of sharp claws striking his nostrils.

_Splash!_

Silver's mouth moved, but the taste of wet fur was gone. As a matter of fact, there was nothing in his mouth at all. A sickening feeling clung to his stomach and when he glanced back, it got even worse. Snow splashed her paws wildly, her head bobbing above the rushing river water that was continually smacking her around. Her body bounced into rocks, or large bits of floating driftwood, and when she tried to call out her best friend's name, she was suddenly dragged under.

"SNOW!" Silver didn't have to think. He threw himself out as far as he could, splashing down into the icy cold water hard. He immediately felt the current trying to overtake him. But no force of nature was about to make him fail, and he forced his powerful wolf legs to kick against the raging water towards his best friend. Snow coughed, hacking out large amounts of water only to be dragged under every other moment. Her legs pedaled hard, for each second spelled impending doom. Silver took in a large amount of water, but he didn't care. His body shot through the river like a sleek black bullet. Waves and debris slapped him from all around, threatening to overturn him, but everything about him—his thoughts, his feelings, his will—were focused solely on rescuing Snow.

He had been swimming so fast that Silver didn't realize how hard he had smacked into Snow until he heard her yelp in pain.

"Sorry!" He coughed and gripped his paws around her. Snow clung tight, nearly dragging him under. The two of them spiraled down the long, snaking river, and though he paddled his feet as hard as he could, Silver could feel the limits of his body being pushed. It was hard, so very hard to resist the urge to just stop moving. But he knew that if he did, then Snow would end up dead, and so prepared to spit in the eye of Mother Nature.

"S-Silver…" Snow called his name, but he didn't respond. Silver forced his body up towards a large slab of driftwood and did all he could to heave her on top. His tongue lulled out and his chest heaved heavy breaths, and he could do to keep from falling off himself dig his claws into the edges. Snow tried to pull him in, but exhaustion had taken its toll on her as well. Still, she refused to give up. "Just hang in there, Silver, and I'll—"

_Snap!_

Snow was suddenly taking in water again, realizing to her horror that the weak bit of wood had split under her weight. Silver sighed. So Mother Nature was prepared to spit back. Silver commanded his aching body underneath the river surface, moving beneath Snow's body so that she was ferrying his back. If she had protested, he didn't hear it. So long as she held on, all he cared about was sailing the rapids to her safety. He inched closer and closer to the banks, swearing under his breath whenever the water yanked him back outwards. The speed of the current was picking up. He knew what it meant and persisted to push harder through the wet. But he couldn't avoid looking back; looking to where the river edged over a steep cliff. Silver pleaded to himself in his head, the words "save Snow" religiously invading every command he made. But the river, coupled with the hard rain, was merciless. Silver felt himself being thrown off the edge. Snow screamed with what little voice she could muster, practically digging her claws into her best friend's side. The wind of the fall picked up in gale force, racking the two wolves with icy stings all over their bodies. Silver felt his strength slipping away, and the moment the two struck the surface, the whole word went blank.

* * *

Silver took a good look at himself. When he realized that he was seeing himself as a pup, he wasn't surprised. He had explored this particular single memory of his past many times before. There he sat, on the bank of a calm, sparkling lake surrounded by lush trees. The sparkling sunlight reflected diamonds off the surface and a few fish plopped in and out of the blue. An older wolf, worn with wisdom, sat next to him. Normally when he spoke, Silver couldn't make out a word he said.

"But that's not enough." The old wolf's voice—soft, but powerful—suddenly fragmented into Silver's ears. "Here, take this." As usual, Silver felt the press of the black beads the wolf had been skillfully stringing to his paw. He enclosed around them and gazed down. The old wolf's voice had become audible again. "Once you find someone special—someone you can't live without—give to her this gift from the heart…"


	3. Leap of Faith, Part 2

Sorry about the wait-Between work and school, I haven't had as much time as I've wanted to have. But here's the second part of chapter 2! Originally, the entire story was only meant to be four chapters long, but this chapter and chapter four may end up both being split into two parts, or just a fifth chapter, depending on how it turns out when I get to actually writing them out. But, without any further delay, enjoy, readers!

Silver Snow

**Chapter 2: Leap of Faith, Part 2**

"Silver…? Silver, come on, wake up…"

Silver didn't want to move. Parts of his body still ached a little and he felt exhausted. His chances for any further sleep was ruined, though, because someone was tapping his nose with an annoying relentlessness. Silver groggily opened his eyes. Snow's face was only a few inches from his, her emerald eyes transfixed into his own. She smiled in relief and brushed her muzzle against his.

"Glad you haven't died on me or anything." She said. If he wasn't before, Silver was definitely up now. Though Snow's affectionate gesture was brief, it made his heart flap in rapid beats against his chest. Silver gave a shake of his fur—perhaps enough to shake the warmth—and groggily got to his feet. The area around him was quiet, save the rushing thin line of river that bisected the land. The place was hilly with the decline going downwards towards a thicket of trees. And upon looking back, Silver could see a vast waterfall in the distance. He figured they must have been washed up to shore when the water had thinned out.

"Are you okay?" Silver asked Snow. Her fur was still a little damp, but she looked fine otherwise. She nodded, then walked over to him, wrestling with her words before she spoke.

"I was…really scared back there, Silver."

"Me too," Silver admitted.

Snow gave him a trivial stare before thanking him. "So any idea where we are?" She made a curious walk around the area, splish-sploshing in puddles. The rain had stopped and the storm clouds were now completely gone. Instead, streaks of orange and yellow from the sinking sun spread in splotches through the air.

"I don't know." Silver finally answered. His eyes followed the river trail. "But we can probably get back home if we follow the river upstream. Okay?" He turned around to receive her answer, just in time to see Snow disappearing down the hill. Silver took off after the young she-wolf, tilting his head. She was already sliding down the hill, going further and further away from their landing pint. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" A playful smile tickled Snow's maw up to him once she hit level ground, walking off. It took a while for Silver to get it, but once he did, he rushed up to Snow's side.

"Snow, wait a minute—we can't just go off like this. I mean, we don't have a plan; we don't even know where we are."

"So we'll figure it out. Grandma doesn't have all the time in the world, we might as well do this while we're out here." Snow said. Silver rubbed his paw on the back of his head.

"I want to help Eve too, but don't you think this is a little…"

"Crazy?"

"Impulsive—I was gonna say impulsive." He quickly added when Snow turned a skeptical look his way. She seemed pretty resolved and he wasn't sure any kind of talking was going to get her to even consider changing her mind. Snow took to walking backwards as she spoke.

"Look at it this way, Silver. While they're busy trying to figure out who to send, we'll have already had a step forward—"

"In the wrong direction—"

"We don't know that. Anyway, at least if two teams are looking, we'll get it covered twice as fast, right? Right?"

Yeah, in Snow-logic. But Silver knew better than to argue back. They were out. They were going. That was the end of the story. He walked closer to her side without objection. After all, he truly did believe what he had said about his faith in her. The two wolves walked further along down the hill, occasionally scaling down sheer cliffs or grassy slops. Though the rain had left a subtle humidity, a light breeze made it very hard to tell. However, wandering aimlessly in some random direction wasn't exactly in Silver's best comfort. He found himself constantly trying to make sense of where they were, as though some kind of nostalgic marker of home would suddenly appear in the distance.

Snow could hear a noise—maybe voices—coming just a few ways off, and she immediately ran for it. The two wolves came to an abrupt stop behind some bushes and proceeded to poke their heads out. It was true; she had in fact heard voices. Down below the hill was a vast clearing. Tables covered almost the entire ground with the exception of the spots where blankets were laid down. Gray smoke seemed to billow not just from the flames coming from the fire in the middle; there were several round, metallic devices that were sending the darkening clouds up into the air. And all around the area, crowding especially by a small fire, were—

"Humans." Silver sucked his fangs. Humans dotted the entire clearing, chatting in some awkward language that he couldn't have deciphered to save his life. This was bad. Campers came equipped with guns, and he was all for making it to wherever they were headed with the same amount of blood he started with. "Okay, Snow, let's try to find another way. Maybe we can go around." He had started walking, but stopped once he realized that Snow wasn't following him. She was still in the bushes, leaning her head much closer out towards the closing. Her nose wiggled as she scented the air. She could smell food. Lots and lots of it wafting in the wind from wherever the gray smoke was rising from. Her stomach churned in knots and she began to pant.

"Snow!" Silver hissed. He went to grab her, only to suddenly find himself poking his head out of the bushes right next to Snow. His stomach gave a very loud rumble and his nose constantly took in many different smells of the food below. Silver hadn't realized just how hungry he was until now and the more he scented, the more he wanted.

"Open for ideas—really quick ideas." Snow licked her lips.

"Uhm…" Silver rubbed his head, trying to clear his thoughts away from the distracting temptation of just running down and snatching up all he could. When the quickest idea came to mind, he motioned for Snow to follow him.

* * *

"Is this really gonna work?"

"Do you have a better plan?" Silver hissed to Snow. Branches and twigs were constantly poking into his skin and threatening to snag against his fur. But the only thought he could entertain as a plan had been to pile on several twigs and branches until he and Snow practically looked like bushes. He could tell it wasn't any picnic for her either, but it was either that or end up eating a bullet sandwich. "Alright, let's be patient with this. If we get caught, we're…Snow!"

But Snow was already gone down the hillside trail, her tail wagging underneath the disguise of leaves. She winced every now and then when a stick stabbed her, but she was purely motivated on one thing only. Silver slapped his paw to his face and scooted after her. The two wolves quietly snuck down into the camp of humans, stopping only when the creature's were close enough to walk by them. Their eyes fell on top of one of the tables, where a plate full of hotdogs sat at the very edge. If they were careful, Silver believed they could make that. He reached his paw out of the branches and put it on Snow's tail to keep her from moving just yet.

"Just wait…" His eyes darted around, and once every human had averted their eyes, or had stopped walking nearby, he let go and the two of them loped on tiptoe closer towards the table in the slight distance. They couldn't move particularly fast, and that made it harder to ignore the teasing scent of not just the hotdogs, but every scrap of meat and foot that was in the campsite. Silver could already taste the hotdogs in his mouth, and had almost given into the single-minded urge of pursuit. But upon hearing a crunch, he suddenly hissed for Snow to get down and the two of them dropped as still as they possible could. A human—one who was rather tall and stocky—turned to gaze at the bushes. The inquisitive look on his face was unmistakable, and he reached up to rub his fingers beneath his glasses as though something would disappear or reappear by doing so. When he realized that nothing was moving, he shrugged his shoulders, took a hotdog, and walked off. Silver and Snow waited till his back was turned before the two of them raised up and hustled their way closer. The scent was getting stronger, and Silver licked his maw till the fur pressed to his skin.

"Yeowch!"

_Plap!_

Silver suddenly forced both himself and Snow back to a dropping position, pulling away the paw that had stepped on her tail and slapping it over her mouth to keep her quiet. Snow frowned at him and he had to mouth "I'm sorry" several times before she actually forgave him. They looked around and started up again when they were sure that no one was looking their way again. When the two wolves had finally reached the table, they had to keep from all but leaping out of their surprisingly effective façade. Snow was the first to lean out. Her paw brushed something down as she balanced it on the bench of the picnic table, but her fixation on the food was too much for her to care. She licked her lips and her nose barely touched the paper plate on the edge.

"Awaa!"

"Huh?" Snow's head turned sharply, reluctantly, to the side. She wasn't sure if she or Silver had ever truly noticed the rather small human child sitting on the bench just a couple of feet back. The round thing clapped her hands together and garbled loud in something almost worse sounding than the larger humans.

"Awaa! Awaa! Awaa!" The child giggled and pointed her tiny fingers right towards Snow.

"No, no, no, Sssshhh!" Snow put her finger to her mouth, as if the furless tyke could understand. But the baby only hushed for a moment before clapping a lot louder and banging her hands on the bench.

"Feed it something!" Silver hissed. Snow almost didn't. The moment the hotdog was trapped in her mouth, it took every ounce of her will to not just down it right then and there. She flung it so that it landed with a plop against the baby's forehead.

"Oops, sorry," Snow brandished her paw apologetically.

"…." The tiny human's eyes suddenly began to swell and her sniffling had become very frequent. She didn't even seem to notice the hotdog at all, and in a manner of seconds, she had let out a high-pitched wailing that made Snow hold her ears. Silver yanked Snow down off the table so abruptly that she almost slid past her own bush disguise into his. His concern quickly fell again the humans that turned their way all at once. Silver sucked his fangs. If they moved, they'd definitely get noticed if not already. One human rose to his feet and began to walk their way. Snow had to fight a defensive growl back down her throat. The tall, lanky camper inched closer, until the two wolves could see the thicket of dried mud clinging to his boots. He leaned over the false shrubs, adjusting his glasses, and then reached his hand down Slowly. Snow winced her eyes shut while Silver's ears pinned forward aggressively.

The hand dropped to the ground, picking up something small, rubber, covered in mud at the end. When he held it up, the baby human almost stopped bawling immediately. Instead, she repeatedly slammed her tiny hands together. Whatever it was must've been hers. The tall human made a noise of disgust. He rubbed the dirt off the pacifier, then proceeded to pick up not only the baby, but the plate of hotdogs before walking off. Snow slapped her paw to her face in the bitter-sweet moment she and Silver shared. This was all starting to be more trouble than it was worth. But another rumble of their stomachs made turning back a groundless option.

Snow was the first to see it. One of the humans close by made his way towards one of the nearby parked trucks. His arms were spread at the waist, loaded with a long, blue colored cooler. As he dumped the rectangular container onto the truck bed, the top flipped up just long enough for Snow to catch a glimpse of all the meat inside. She was sold.

"Silver, did you see that?"

"I'd rather pretend I hadn't." It was a half-hearted response that Silver gave only out of the desire for no more close calls. Snow rolled her eyes and haphazardly trailed forward through the camp. The moment she was close enough, she shook her disguise away and bounced into the truck. A second thud told her that Silver had landed right behind her. She was too hungry to waste time and flipped the cooler top open, rewarded with the sweet, sweet smell of hotdogs, ribs, hamburgers, and just about any other kind of meat product the campers could procure. She took it back—this was totally worth it. Without a moment of hesitation, the two wolves tore into the cooler carelessly enough to knock it down before them. For a long while, the only sound Silver focused on was his and Snow's chewing, and once he was full, he gave a low growl of satisfaction underneath his breath. Snow must've been hungrier than he was because she hadn't stopped well after him.

"Here, you're making a mess." Silver walked over and put his paw on Snow's head in order to hold her still. Without thinking, he gingerly started to lick and nibble the scraps of meat off his best friend's muzzle. Snow froze. Her chest seized with a warmth around the edges. Her heart drummed against her chest, and she could've sworn that her tail had begun to wag. She opened her mouth to protest, but a quiet "Uhm," was all that she could seem to manage.

"There," When Silver had backed off, he smiled. It had seemed brotherly, and something about that made Snow just a little upset. She gave her fur a shake and went over to gaze off the edge of the truck bed in some attempt to avoid eye contact for a while. She hadn't noticed it when they were eating, but the truck was moving. A swirling cloud of dust trailed behind the powerful wheels and the trembling of the mechanic carriage came equipped with a low, metallic humming noise. Trees passed them by in swift, wooden blurs, the truck leaving the campsite far behind. She didn't seem particularly worried. It wasn't like they knew exactly where they were going in the first place. Snow laid her head down on the side and enjoyed the wind blowing on her face.

"Well, there's no turning back now, huh?" Silver said.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess not."

Silver's head cocked to the side. He went to take up Snow's right side and laid his head down next to hers. "You okay?"

"Hey Silver…do you ever feel…you know. Weird when you're around me sometimes?" Snow asked.

"We're weird wolves." Silver mused. Snow turned her head to face him. Her emerald eyes reflected an orange shine from the sinking sun that made them glow. She searched his own for a moment of silence, then shook her head.

"Nevermind."

From that point, it was a pretty silent ride, but Silver didn't mind it that much. He let Snow lean against him, the two of them listening to the many bumps the truck made down the long, twisting trail. The trees eventually began to thin out, and a wide-open road was quickly replaced with tall building structures. At first, it didn't seem to be a problem. A human here and there wouldn't have really noticed a couple of wolves hitchhiking in the back of a camper's truck. But with the increase of buildings, and subsequently the number of people, Silver and Snow had ducked their bodies down low into the truck bed. Human voices had become plentiful, some shouting to the point of making the two wolves' ears perk up in alert. Silver sighed.

"You think we'll stop eventually?" Snow asked him.

"Not sure. I'm more worried about stopping somewhere safely." Silver said. When the truck finally did stop, it was like a slap in the face. Silver and Snow poked their heads up just enough to get a glimpse of a small town. The buildings were more close-knit than they were when they were riding, and there were more humans than they had ever seen in their lives. The door to the truck opened and the human camper got out, walking into one of the buildings across the street. How long would it be before he checked the back of his truck and find the two furry stowaways inside?

"Hey, smell that?" Snow's nose wiggled as she scented the air and licked her lips. Silver smelled it too. Something sweet was carrying a heavy scent towards them. The smell seemed to be coming from one of the buildings just across the sidewalk from them. Every time a human walked through the door, the scent fluctuated even stronger. Snow licked her lips when she felt the craving set in.

"Yeah, it smells good, but—" Silver frowned and suddenly pulled Snow's head back down into the truck when she had leaned too far out. "Don't do that, Snow. Any one of these humans could spot us."

But Snow wasn't hearing it. She put her paw onto his muzzle and nudged him over playfully. "You need to relax, Silver, it'll be okay. We didn't get caught before, right? I'm practically an invisible wolf."

"No, _I'm_ the invisible wolf and you're the one about to blow our cover." Silver rolled back up off his back.

"Just come on." Snow said in a voice that implied she wasn't changing her mind. Silver watched her wait until the walking humans had thinned out before shadowing her out of the truck and down onto the concrete sidewalk. Once the door to the shop had opened again, the two wolves snuck right past an oblivious human's legs inside. The building was bright; lights hung from ceiling and showered the booths and tables in a sheen of yellow and orange. There weren't nearly as many humans inside as there were outside. The slight sound of some kind of music came rising from the jukebox in the corner, playing the chorus over and over like a broken record. Snow weaved through the tables all the way to the back of the shop. A double door was cracked ever so slightly, and with another sniff of her nose, she confirmed that the something sweet was definitely in there. She flashed a grin back to Silver.

"See? I told you I was invisible."

Silver playfully rolled his eyes and bade her to go on.

A loud smack whipped into the air, and Silver only had a matter of milliseconds to catch and tumble back with Snow as the double doors struck her muzzle.

"You okay?" Silver asked.

"Define 'okay'…" Snow answered, her gaze not breaking the straightaway of her line of vision for some reason. Silver glanced up. The human loomed over them like an obelisk dressed in white from head to toe. His chef hat hung crooked from the side of his head, revealing curly black locks beneath. His bronze face was splattered with flour, and he held a rolling pin in one hand and a rather large spatula in the other. Silver watched his expression melt from surprised, to fearful, and then to downright fury. So much for being invisible wolves..

"Get going!"

"Right behind you!" Snow nearly tripped in her scramble over Silver and the two of them broke into a flat-out sprint. The human let out a roar of language they couldn't understand and the next thing they knew, they were suddenly being forced to dodge fly-by silverware, pots, and even the rolling pin the human had possessed. Their paws slid on the smooth tile, and the myriad of tables and chairs served as obstacles in their path.

More screams came with every human they passed, and it became a sweet relief when Silver and Snow burst through the door. Or rather, a short-lived relief. Almost every head of the passerby in the street had been attracted to the commotion. Snow revolted as more of that language and screams filled the air.

"Snow, hurry up!" Silver's head nudged Snow so forcefully that she teetered into a run down the sidewalk. The human decked in white was still boldly chasing them, waving tools they had never seen before in a fit of rage. People parted whenever the two wolves passed, and a flock of birds bathing in a street puddle suddenly flitted into the air like an explosion of feathery confetti. Snow and Silver had no clue where they were running to. The sidewalk seemed to go on in a never-ending twist of concrete. But it was the best idea they had.

_BAM!_

"Ahph!" Something hard, metallic, and cold ricocheted off the side of Silver's rump, ringing pain down into the marrow of his bones. He yelped, losing his balance, and crashed hard onto the round.

"Silver?" Snow made a skillful u-turn and was at her friend's side in seconds. "Come on, get up—we don't have time for this, Silver!" She nudged her muzzle under Silver and started to lift him up. Silver slowly rose back to his paws.

"Keep going, Snow, so we don't—"

Silver's voice had been cut off. A looped strap dropped down over his muzzle, clenching his mouth down to where he could barely move it. His head shook and pulled, but a stronger force pulled back, yanking him down onto the ground. Growls, deep and aggressive, came rolling from his throat and Silver struggled in rabid kicks and twists to free himself. The strap was connected to a long pole, held tight by a large, heavy set human in dark sunglasses. His head jerked when he heard a whimper coming from Snow, catching her in a struggle of her own from another human. A protective rage built in his body. However, that had only lasted for a few furious moments. Something sharp pricked his hindquarters and within seconds, he felt his consciousness slipping between the lines of reality. Silver glanced down. A needle protruded slightly from his skin. The young wolf fought hard, his eyes feeling like lead weights. Just a nap, his inner voice would provoke. He was fighting a losing battle, and his eyes focused on Snow as his world slipped away.

* * *

Snow was the first to wake, and she was simply irate. Not only from the groggy feeling the tranquilizer left, but from the place that the humans had placed her in. The stone enclosing was just small enough to accommodate room for her to move around. The lighting was poor, and the cell was blocked off by black steel bars. It made the imprisonment of her territory seem like paradise in comparison. But worst of all, she couldn't find Silver. Snow put her muzzle as far between the bars as she could. There seemed to be several cells just like hers in the dungeon-like place, each housing some kind of animal. A dark stone staircase lead up towards a wooden door that was slightly ajar, letting a few rays of light flit in.

"Silver? Silver!" Snow hissed. What answered her wasn't Silver, but rather a very wheezy laugh coming from a cell across from her. The dog's brown fur was shaggy all over and dirty—it had probably been a while since he bathed. One of his ears hung to the side and there was a scar across the right side of his cheek.

"Take a breather, lass. You'll be stuck here long enough to see your friend, I promise ya." He said. Snow frowned and tried to span her eyes around the entire inner sanctum. Silver wasn't in any of the cages across from her. Maybe he was in the ones on either side of her, but those she couldn't adequately see into. The dog sighed and leaned against the bars of his cell. "Your friend be sleepin' next to your block, lass. He put up a devil's fight—had to sedate him twice before they got him in his cell."

Snow found herself in a panic. She let out several barks and howls—anything to get her best friend's attention. In return, several animals in their cages threw angry slurs and looks her way.

"Aye, keep it down—we've got enough problems without yer belly-achin' on top of it. He'll wake up when he wakes up." The dog said. Snow sighed and sat down. How long would she have to wait for Silver. Was he hurt, and if so, how bad? The minutes seemed to roll on forever, but she had heard the familiar groan of her friend and went to press as close to the bars as possible.

"Silver, are you okay?"

He didn't respond immediately. Silver's head felt like a thick fog had settled all around his thoughts. His muscles were tender and refused to obey, and his nose stung form the salty smell of rust in the air. It took Snow's voice to call his name a second time before Silver had become fully awake.

"Snow…?"

"I'm here, Silver—did they hurt you?" Snow asked worriedly. Silver checked. Four paws, one tail, head on right—everything seemed to be in order.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

"I'm okay." Snow let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, so the wee lass's boyfriend is awake. We can all get a good night's sleep now."

"Boyfriend?" Silver and Snow exclaimed at once, both of their chests seizing up with warmth. The old dog gave another wheezy, amused laughter. Silver gripped his paws around the bars of his cell and looked around. He scoffed at not being able to see Snow, and even more so that he couldn't brute-force his way out of the prison.

"Where are we?" Silver asked.

"This is the pound." A smaller, female dog chimed from a cage two cells down when no one else responded. "This is where the humans put stray animals for holding."

"And how do we get out?"

"Aha!" The old brown-furred dog's laughter bounced against the stone walls. "If we knew the answer to that one, boyo, we'd all be long gone by now."

The tiny mutt sighed. "Don't mind him—he always gets this way when newcomers arrive."

Snow closed her eyes, and the look of worry was back on her face. "Silver…we can't stay here. The longer we wait, the worse grandma'll get."

"I know, I'll figure out how to get us out of here somehow." Silver told her.

"Good luck with that, boyo." The old dog gave a skeptical roll of his eyes. As much as Silver didn't want to admit it, the senior mutt was right. He had no clue how to get them out, or any idea where to start for that matter. The only thing accompanying him in that godforsaken cell was a bowl half filled with dirty water. The ground was solid stone—too hard to dig into. Silver swore under his breath.

"Just relax," The tiny dog said, "It's really not that bad here. The humans even feed us." He couldn't say that was very reassuring, and by the low growl coming form Snow's cell, he knew that being told to relax was the last thing she wanted to hear right now. Silver laid down to try and gather his thoughts. By now, the sedative had completely worn off and he could feel his strength returning. For all it was worth though, it couldn't help him and Snow out now.

The door above the staircase was suddenly kicked open, allowing a flood of light to come bursting through the darkness. Silver and Snow stared up through the bars. Two uniformed humans grunted as they walked down the stone steps. One of them was holding a small, struggling creature, while the other pinned his mouth and claws down. They babbled loud in their incomprehensive human language, risking being knocked off the stairway by their manic capture. Upon closer look, the creature was revealed as an otter. His body wiggled like a fish on a hook and when they finally hurtled him into the cage, the humans slammed the bars shut with a loud clang.

"Owwww…." The otter's voice echoed. When he realized the silence, he bounced up to his feet and gripped the cell bars. "I-I mean, you better walk away! If I hadn't just unleashed on the last fifty humans, you two'd be in a world of hurt!" He poked his chest out, but Silver nor Snow—or any of the impounded animals, for that matter—were buying it.

"Great, another loud one." The old dog walked to the back of his cell. The otter frowned and made a not-so-appropriate gesture that made Snow laugh.

"I must've run into some good luck if I managed to make someone laugh. So now…" The otter glanced around the room, "Who's onboard for busting out of this rock?" At first, no one answered, but when they saw that he was completely serious, the lot of impounded animals roared with laughter. The otter jumped, gripping his cage bars tighter. "I'm serious—I didn't come all this way just to get duped by a bunch of bad-smelling humans." He exclaimed.

"Aye, says the genius otter locked behind bars." The old dog stated. Snow felt just a little better—at least someone else shared hers and Silver's enthusiasm for escape.

"I've been around the block and I've seen your type, pal." The otter folded his arms, "The only way you're gonna get out of here is gas up the nose or a cold bullet to the head."

"Say what, boyo?" The old dog growled. But judging by the looks of the other animals, it was an unvoiced concern they all held. The senior took to pacing in his cell, the chagrin clear in his expression. "Alright, genius otter, how do you come off like you're gonna liberate everyone here?"

"I'm not. Only the ones who wanna bust out with me."

Silver looked around. The otter's statement was an expectant one, meant to rally up anyone with the hope of getting away. But the well of hope looked dry in the crest-fallen expressions of the ones who had been in their cells beforehand. They scoffed, or jarred at the otter's response as they went back to whatever laying position they were in. The old dog sighed and looked up with what Silver thought was his true expression. His aged eyes were sullen and heavy, and his ears dropped as thought permanently stuck that way.

"Do us a favor, boyo, and don't do any. It's been too long for that."

Snow pressed her face between the bars. "Us—we want to get out."

"Yeah, we have to get out fast." Silver said, "Do you have a plan?"

"Is the sky blue?" There was a loud chink and the otter dropped down onto the floor. He grinned triumphantly, spinning a metallic ring loaded with keys on his tail.

"The cell keys? How'd you get those?" The tiny mutt sat up in slight alert.

"Talent. Because I'm such a _genius_ otter." The otter aimed towards the unbelieving cell mate. The old dog gave a grunt. The otter strolled over to Silver's cage first, turning the key to the lock and letting the door swing open. "I easily nicked these from the humans when they were fighting over me." He boasted as an afterthought. But Silver was more focused on Snow. The moment her cage was open, the two nearly crashed into each other. They checked each other over, as if not believing when they had said they were okay, until Silver began to realize her muzzle stroking up against his own. The two of them let out a surprised gasp and drew back, finding it hard to look each other in the eye.

"Tch, the door may be open, but you'll still get caught." The old dog grumbled. If the impounded had gotten their hopes interested, his statement had surely sent them crashing back down.

"Again, you underestimate the magnificent thing about being me, old man." The otter skipped to a corner, coming back with a trio of empty cardboard boxes. Silver slapped his paw over his face—he knew where this was going and wasn't too thrilled. Snow jumped when the box was slapped over her first, then silver second. Her ears perked up beneath the cardboard that had completely obscured all but her paws.

"Follow each other's feet, and if I say drop, drop down and don't move!" The otter hissed. Snow nodded, though she knew it couldn't be seen, and heard Silver grumble an agreement behind her. She could see the otter's tail under the box before her, just enough to start moving when he did. All around the room, talk of failure was thick. But by all accounts, it was better than rotting in a cage. And—with a twinge of guilt—admittedly a little fun. The three of them crept incognito up the long stone staircase. The door creaked loud when the otter pushed it open, and as the light flooded under their paws, Snow could hear the hushed gobbled speech of the human language again. She followed in zigzags with Silver right behind her. Or so she suspected. Every time she went to look back, the back of the cardboard box obscured her sight of him.

_Thump!_

Snow staggered back when something bumped into the front of her box; the back struck Silver's and, judging by the sound, nearly knocked him over.

"What's going on, Snow?" Silver asked, his voice muffled.

"Dunno, I hit something." Snow leaned down, just enough to see underneath her disguise. Her head tilted inquisitively to the side. There was a pair of mucky white shoes very close to the cardboard. Her ears caught the sound of human speech, and before she could even say anything, the box was yanked right off of her. Silver's fur went up in surprise as the sudden loss of his disguise. The three gazed up to the looming, shocked group of humans completely decked out in white.

"Twice in one day? This is ridiculous…" Snow grumbled and suddenly found herself being pushed into a run from Silver crashing into her.

"Less talking, more escaping!" An explosion of commotion erupted in the small office-like enclosing and the humans mobilized like robots, pursuing the three escaping animals. The otter was the first to burst out the door onto the sidewalk. Silver and Snow welcomed the fresh air of the cool late evening as a welcomed change to the damp, musky scent of the pound. The three darted down the sidewalk at a full blown sprint, with Silver glancing back occasionally. Granted, the humans were fast, but four paws beat two feet anyday. A human in white gave a disgruntled roar, taking up something long and metallic he had been holding in his hand. A gun. Placing it up to his vision, he aimed the barrel with a deadly accuracy and pulled the trigger.

"No!"

Silver rammed his head into Snow's loin, fearing the risk of hurting her in the back of his mind. But surely, any pain she got from a fall was nothing compared to getting shot. The tranquilizer dart ricocheted off the ground between them with a loud ping.

"Silver…" Snow's surprised look melted into a sweet, very appreciative smile. Silver's heart gave a powerful, warm throb against his chest.

"Goo-goo eyes later! Scatter already! Get those furry butts outta here!" The otter shoved Silver off to one side and Snow to the other. "I can take on a few wimpy humans no problem. Go on ahead, I'll hold them off for you—"

_Bang!_

"Nevermind!" The otter tore up the middle of the sidewalk so fast that a trail of dust and debris followed behind him. By now, an entire platoon of humans in white were sprinting up towards the three escapees in the distance. The human waving the gun looked especially furious, readying his weapon for yet another shot. Snow looked reluctant to split away from her best friend, so Silver went to flank her side as they took off again. The sidewalk quickly turned into black, widespread road. And just behind the reaches of street and building, the two could see a stretch of a large body of sparkling water.

_Screee!_

The most sickening sound Silver and Snow had ever heard caused their ears to press down to the sides of their heads. Bright, flooding lights equipped to screeching behemoth-like machines zoomed by so dangerously fast that the wind that stirred made the wolves' fur stand up. Silver found himself and Snow constantly backing or skipping in frantic panic as the cars swerved around their bodies. The closer they came to the middle of the street, the more the cars and trucks seemed prone to crash into them. There was another loud screech, and both Silver and Snow froze. The car came sliding down the road in a manic swerving motion as the driver lost control. Cars zoomed across the other side of the road, blocking their way to the other sidewalk. Silver rolled Snow under him protectively, the two of them holding their breaths, closing their eyes, and waiting for the impact. There were more loud screeches, followed by deafening crashes that shook the ground beneath them.

But the impact never came. Snow opened her eyes. The grill of the car blew hot air just inches from her nose, and when Silver had let her up, she could see a slew of vehicles smashed against and piled on top of each other. The smell of burned rubber was strong, and the humans were shouting at the top of their longs. The pursuers in white scrambled to try and get over the blockades, yelling back at the irate drivers. Once some had gotten over the debris, they immediately took towards Silver and Snow while ignoring the jars and commotion surrounding.

Something familiar and slightly nostalgic seemed to click as Silver and Snow took off running towards the sidewalk. And as the humans literally dove and dived in some desperate attempt to catch them, they found themselves weaving in between the huddle of legs and fly-by bodies in an almost psychic synchronicity. Silver's movement practically mirrored Snow's; their bodies crossed and swerved along the thick black of the street, sending anyone who had dropped down towards them to stumble into the middle of the street. The two of them bounced onto the hood of a crashed car (gaining an unwelcomed scream from the driver) and finally made it to the sidewalk.

"Over here!" The otter was a short ways off, bouncing and waving his arms. Silver and Snow followed him through a dark alley and up into the bed of a truck parked on the other side of the emerging street. The truck had a tarp of which the otter yanked overhead. The trio lay in silence, watching the tons of feet belonging to the catchers rush past them. When the commotion had died down, Snow and Silver looked to each other before bursting with laughter. They rolled onto their backs, pawing the air playfully as if they were still pups.

"We haven't done something this stupid in a long time!" Snow exclaimed.

"We haven't done something this stupid ever." Silver said, but he whole-heartedly agreed with Snow's interpretation of fun. It was something about escaping that had a thrill edged in appreciation to it.

"Go back out and try it again?"

"Yeah, it wasn't that much fun."

"Still, Silver," Snow's expression turned soft as she gazed to her best friend. "Thanks for helping me out back there. You're always looking out for me." Silver felt the corners of his mouth slowly turn up. Something about Snow always made him feel beyond happy; that every second he spent close to her was something precious he could never replace, or even be without. He wasn't sure how long it took him to answer, but when he did, he found a nervous stutter in his voice at the beginning.

"W-well, of course I am. That's what friends do, right?"

"Do you wanna move to a more private truck?" The otter grinned, wiggling his eyebrows up and down. Silver and Snow gave a flabbergasted protest that didn't even make sense, and he roared with laughter. "I'm just kidding, just kidding. My name is Arin, by the way. And you two?"

"I'm Snow."

"Silver."

"Well put 'em there, Snowflake and Shiny Eyes." Silver wasn't too sure how much he liked being coined "Shiny Eyes" as the otter shook both his and Snow's paws with his own. "So how'd a cutesy couple like you wind up in the pound of all places? You don't look like human pets or anything."

"We were heading up north." Snow pointed her finger up, as if actually pointing out some general direction. Not that she had the slightest clue where they were anyway.

"That's kinda vague. Anywhere up north in particular?"

"We're trying to find a rare flower that grows up in the north—a flower with silver petals—so we can cure Snow's grandma." Silver said and Snow nodded in agreement, only looking worried for a moment at the mention of her sick grandmother. Arin rubbed his finger against his chin for a moment in thought, then snapped his fingers.

"Oh, you must mean the Asimi Bloom. I've heard of flowers like that growing close nearby where I live."

"Seriously?" Silver and Snow leaned forward so abruptly that they knocked Arin back onto the truck bed. He rubbed where his head had hit and nodded.

"Yeah. I was actually heading up that way anyway to go see my family. I don't mind if you two decide to tag along with me for a while." Arin told them. Silver and Snow looked to each other with the same beaming expression. Maybe their trip wasn't going to be such a wild stab in the dark after all. Arin leaned over to the side of the truck bed and looked underneath the tarp. "Humans try to be so systematic sometimes. We'll have to lay low here for a while till they clear out, but there's a boat that will take us part of the way to where we need to go if we make it." He continued to say.

"Uhm, you sure do seem to know a lot about humans…or the outside in general for that matter." Snow was reluctant to say so at first.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I spend a lot of time around them. I've been around the block a couple of times—" He nearly jumped when he turned around, the two wolves looking at him with expectant expressions on their faces. He couldn't possibly have known how little they actually got out in comparison, but didn't complain at the openness. Arin cleared his throat and held his finger up in a matter-of-fact stance. "It just so happens that ever since I left home, I've been passed off from one human to the next as some sort of pet. I've ridden in cars and trains and even a plane or two before. I know how they operate in their world and…I'm confusing you with all this, aren't I?' Arin rubbed the back of his head when Silver and Snow cocked their heads to the side. He plopped down to a sitting position. "Point and case, I've got seasoned experience about the world and I'm not afraid to use it to get to where I need to be."

Snow liked that, and she wanted it; to gain some of that seasoned experience that she was missing about the world. Not that she was all too thrilled with being tossed back into another one of those dark, musky stone cells again. She didn't hesitate to ask Arin any question that came to mind; what the world outside was like; how different things were beyond the scope of her territory; the adventures and travels that the small otter had been so fortunate to make in his life. And Arin seemed all to thrilled to spin his answers in the most dramatic way possible. Silver's interest was indeed piqued, but he couldn't say that his fascination was as great as his best friend's. What he wouldn't do to be back home at the moment, maybe sitting on the ledge that overlooked the entire Jasper Park; gazing at the setting sun casting shadows like thick inky blankets over the land; listening to the sounds of his friends playing in the background; and himself snuggling extremely close against Snow's side, his muzzle pressed in affectionate closeness against hers…

Silver hadn't realized how deep he had gone into his reverie until Snow had asked him if he agreed about something. He managed a nod to her and laid his head down. Something was definitely changing. Sure, he cared deeply for Snow—that was a given since the day he had met her. But lately, his thoughts about her had been drifting further away from the more playful ones to something much more affectionate. He let his eyes wander over to Snow. She was still listening to Arin talk on, and he found himself smiling at how she was eagerly taking every story he told in. If she was now out, finally living her dream about seeing the world, then Silver was more than happy that he was the one who got to share it with her.

* * *

Silver was just about to doze off when he felt Snow rapidly prodding his side with her paw. He rolled over and groaned. He hoped she wasn't going to make a frequent habit of wrecking his sleep.

"Come on, we have to go." Snow hissed to him. Arin was already yanking the tarp up and motioning for them to get going. The two wolves dropped down onto the black street and followed after the otter. The only light that was provided in the black of night came from the few street lamps and the glowing quarter moon high in the starry sky. The town was much quieter during the night, and there weren't nearly as many humans walking around, if any at all. Snow looked into the dark corners, as if to find some kind of trace of them. Not that she was complaining that the coast was so clear.

"Where is everyone?" She asked.

"Humans don't really stay out so much at night around here. Think it's dangerous or something." Arin made his way across to the sidewalk and looked off to the slight distance. The sparkling lake was closer than before, and a slightly sizable boat floated atop the surface near the docks. They were in luck; it looked like a straight clean shot towards their destination. "Good, looks like we still have a little time before the boat leaves the pier."

"Then let's get movin—" Silver's ears suddenly rang as something hard struck the back of his head hard enough to force a whimper out of him. The next thing he knew, he was down, fighting black spots over his vision. Snow whipped around, only to start backing up with Arin pressed up right behind her. The human's white uniform was horribly blackened with dirt and muck, and even torn in some places. His hat was askew, showing the brown of his hair, and the right lens of his sunglasses were cracked in such a way that they could see the fury set in his eyes. The man let his firearm hang limp at his side as he advanced on the she-wolf and otter until he had backed them up against the side wall of a nearby building.

"Any plans?" Snow growled, wishing she had more wiggle room. "I don't wanna go back to the pound."

"He doesn't have any intention of that." Arin gulped. "I can smell gunpowder. There're bullets in that gun." Snow gave a slight jump. Suddenly, the whole on-the-edge concept didn't seem so fun anymore. The human slowly raised his gun to his line of sight—savoring the moment of having the two animals cornered right where he wanted them.

"Do something Arin!"

"I am!" Arin hid himself completely underneath Snow's tail, his body trembling. Snow swallowed hard, unable to break her eyes from the barrel of the gun.

"Silver…"

Silver gave a groggy groan and raised himself up to his feet. He had heard Snow, and when his eyes had finally focused back on the world around him, he let out a sharp gasp. They constantly darted between Snow and the gun, over and over until his memories started playing like a broken movie reel in his head. A feeling he hadn't felt in a long time started to slowly creep its way into his body. Flashes of memory—memories of being surrounded by raging flames—interjected between his reality and self-consciousness, until the flames had begun to lick and burn at the edge of his vision. Silver let out a very deep, very dangerous growl, feeling the rage deepen to a maddening boiling point the moment the human had begun to squeeze the trigger.

_BANG!_

The trigger had been pulled. The shotgun shells had been fired. So what the human didn't seem to understand is how the shells now lay crumpled on the floor before the trembling white wolf. He frowned in confusion, before suddenly gazing up at the street lamp next to him. The light was flickering wildly, as if it had shorted out several times over. Not just that one, but all of the street lamps were blinking in sporadic instances, until the glass suddenly shattered and all that was left were impossible floating orbs of light where the illumination had been. The wind tickled the humans ears, and he began to tremble in slight fear. The shadows—be they in the corners of alleyways or beneath the few parked cars on the road—had begun to twist and converge with a life of their own. The moon glowed, as though it were enraged, spreading a thick feeling of foreboding all over the spit of town. The human was almost too afraid to turn around.

Silver stood in a low crouch with his claws literally digging cracks into the concrete. His fangs were barred like sharp ivory knives and his fur stood on the end to the point of being almost needle-like. The shadows and the light converged around his body, forming wispy waves of contradictory elements about the outline of his figure. All the while, the enraged flames burning inside of him seemed to get hotter and hotter. Silver wanted to kill this human. Every burning nerve in his body roared with the intent of murder. The human muttered in quick, flabbergasted tones, aiming his gun in such a shaky manner that it took him a while to get a good aim on Silver. The shots roared like cracks of thunder; a curtain of wispy light and dark whipped up in front of Silver's body almost immediately, crunching the steel-studded shells to scrap on the ground. The elements moved faster than the speed of light, embracing the gun and causing wicked cuts to the attacker's hands while ripping it out of his grip. Drops of blood flecked to the road in light, but sickening splatters. The human gasped while he watched his gun being crumpled and torn in utter disbelief. Silver stepped forward. The human stepped back. With his back arched, Silver let out a loud bark. The human wailed and turned to run as fast as he could, not caring if he had knocked over a few garbage cans, or slammed crotch-first into a parking meter.

Snow opened one of her eyes. She had heard the shot, but didn't feel any pain. As a matter of fact, there didn't seem to be a speck of blood on her, save the splattered red she saw on the street before her. Arin was still trembling under her tail. She decided to pay him no mind and look around. To her short-lasting relief, the human was gone, the gun no longer pointed at her face. What she saw instead was Silver staring off dangerously into the distance. The shadows and light had stopped converging well before she had opened her eyes, but the burning rage still commanded his body. Silver's eyes were no longer kind and sure. Instead, they brought back the feeling of dread that Snow had the first night they met; the feeling that urged her to run as fast as she possibly could and not look back. Instead, she swallowed and took a cautious step forward.

"Silver..? Are you okay..?" She knew it was a dumb question, but it was all that she could think of at the time. Silver's eyes snapped over to Snow, like a predator who had just found his next pray. Snow dared to continue moving forward. "Silver…what's wrong with you? This is…this is just like before." Silver let out a deep growl that had almost stopped her. The closer she came to him, the harder his claws dug into the pavement. Despite the danger, Snow moved just inches away from him, staring into his eyes. Something was horribly wrong, and she couldn't understand why he seemed so mad and so cold. He didn't move, but she could easily tell that a wrong one on her part could lead to a fate worse than the gun. Snow sighed and lowered her head.

"…." Silver's paw reached up, slowly flexing his sharp claws. Snow closed her eyes, waiting in glum silence. The paw came down—and started to very slowly ruffle the young she-wolf's head fur. Snow snapped her head up. Silver's other paw was pressed to his forehead. He grunted as the flames slowly simmered away from his vision, taking the rage and the hate along with it. It seemed painful, especially when he dropped to the ground and shook a little. But his episode only lasted a few seconds, and when he opened his eyes, they were kind and soft again. "Promised…" Silver whispered.

"Silver!" Snow knocked her best friend down, pushing and rubbing her head against his so hard that it started to hurt. "What happened? Why were you like that again?" Silver let out a sigh. All he could truly recount was being enraged and seeing the human run off in fear. Everything else just seemed to be a burning blur in his memory.

"I don't know…just didn't wanna see you get hurt." Silver looked up, just now realizing how much Snow had been nuzzling him. She must've realized it too, because her eyes snapped open and she suddenly backed up, pawing the ground nervously.

"I-Is it over?" Arin opened his eye and looked around. He noticed that the coast was clear, and jumped up to his feet, waving his fists and shuffling back and forth. "I-I mean, yeah—it's a good thing he ran away! Any longer and I'd have opened up an entire can of beat-down on him! Hmph!"

"Right," Snow giggled and shook her head, rubbing her head fur back into place. "Why did he leave, anyway? Did you hurt him, Silver?" She looked to him, recanting the scene of Silver standing atop the bear when they were pups. Silver sat up and looked around. Snow and Arin didn't seem to be hurt. He saw blood, but none on him, so he could only assume that he hadn't hurt anyone.

"Maybe he just got scared off or something." It was the best Silver could come up with. The trio didn't have time to sit and chat long. The sound of a foghorn bellowed well into the still, night air.

"Ah! We've gotta move, _now!"_ Arin rushed off on all fours down the sidewalk. Silver checked Snow over again to reassure he hadn't broken his promise before the two of them sprinted after the otter. They made their way down the pathways and onto the docks of the pier. The boat gave another whistle as it started to slowly shove off from the shore. Arin gave a panicked gasp, jumping atop one of the dock posts and leaping onto the deck. Silver butted his head under Snow as she jumped and made a leap of his own. While Snow rolled onto the deck, Silver barely had enough luck to cling over the edge. He scrambled up with Snow's and Arin's help and the three of them rolled onto their backs, sighing in relief.

* * *

It hadn't taken long for Arin to fall sleep once the boat was well off in its way across the vast lake. The only humans that were on board were beneath the deck, and that left the topside completely free for the trio to be out in the open. Silver walked over to the edge of the railing and looked out over to the rolling waves below. Flecks of cool water washed up to his face, and he couldn't help but smile. The lake was indeed a serene sight to look at. Something about it made him feel at peace. Even moreso, the moon reflected almost perfectly into the water like a wavy mirror, adding to the splendor.

"Hey," Snow suddenly plopped down against him. Silver's ears perked up when he felt her leaning her head down against his shoulder. The wind played with her head fur, and upon glancing down her way, Silver couldn't help but admit how stunning that actually made her look.

"Hey," He nudged his tail playfully against hers.

"You know, without all the running, and shooting, and being thrown into dark cells, this isn't half bad, right?"

"Heh, if that's what you think." Silver let out a slight laugh.

"I wonder…how grandma's doing." Snow looked up at the moon. Her thoughts seemed to splatter guilt all over the bit of fun she was having now that she was outside the box of her home. Silver rested his paw on top of hers reassuringly.

"I'm sure we'll get there in time, Snow. I mean, we're already on the right track, aren't we?"

"Yeah…I still can't help but worry though. And mom and dad are probably going nuts right now." She sighed, "I didn't think about how it would make them feel if I just ran off like that…" Silver's thoughts immediately fell on Anna. His overprotective mother was probably pulling her fur out by the roots trying to find him. It made him feel horrible, but they were too far out to stop now. Silver looked to Snow's worried look, and wished she would smile again. Everything always got better whenever Snow smiled…or said his name…or was anywhere near him for that matter. He thought about how much fun she was; how she always seem to get him in the right mood whenever he was down, or how he couldn't seem to make sense of the world whenever she wasn't around.

Silver felt his heart starting to drum against his warming chest, and smirked only slightly at his sudden realization. He was in love with her. He had always been in love with Snow, since they were pups; since she came back to let him know that everything was okay even after he had lost himself that night. All of the nervousness, and the warmth he felt whenever he caught himself gazing into the radiant emerald of her eyes, or whenever she even so much as called his name, suddenly made sense. Silver looked down to his paws, right down to the beaded bracelet he never took off. The voice of the old wolf from his memories echoed wisely within his thoughts; the only bit of memory that he could really attest to.

"_Once you find someone special—someone you can't live without—give to her this gift from the heart…"_

"Snow…"

"Hm?" Snow turned his way. Silver slowly nudged the beads off his wrist and held Snow's paw in his own. He let his fingers and the tips of his claw roll gingerly through the white of her fur, to the back to her pads on the inside. Silver's eyes met hers, smiling with an amount of affection Snow had never seen before. It made her tail wag and her heart beat wildly against her chest. He slowly rolled the beads onto her wrist, patting them once when they were secure. Snow gasped under her breath.

"Silver, I can't take this…it's all you have left of wherever you came from…it's too special…" She protested quietly. Silver shook his head, his voice capped with a warm kindness that made the warmth tickle in her chest.

"And that's why I'm giving it to you. Because you are special." Silver said. The rosy color that had flooded Snow's cheeks stood out on her white fur. Silver kept his paws wrapped around hers, his heart urging him to tell her everything; to tell her how happy she made him feel; to tell her that he loved her. But for some reason, his words fell short, and whenever he even felt close to saying so, his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth. "Snow…I…"

"Yeah..?" Snow wasn't aware of how incredibly close her muzzle had been inching towards his, or didn't care for that matter. The only reason she even noticed it was because she had started to feel Silver's warm breath puffing against her maw. A minute shiver coursed throughout her body, tensing up almost every muscle and giving her the sudden urge to brip the back of his fur. She opened her mouth, awaiting him to speak; tasting the scent that gently wafted from the surface of his fur.

"I…"

"ZZZZZZZZ! No! That's my cheese doodle…" The two wolves nearly jumped and turned their heads towards Arin. The otter had rolled onto his back, kicking his foot into the air. A line of drool hung from his mouth and his paws were balled into weak fists that occasionally punched into the air. Granted, the little otter did seem to be full of it half the time, but there was no doubt that he had been helpful.

"Aww, that's so cute." Snow giggled and made her way over to him. Silver rubbed the back of his head. It sucked that the moment was over, but then it wasn't like he felt he was going to be any successful in advancing it anyway. Snow laid down next to Arin and then motioned for Silver to come over. His smile met hers and he made his way to take a spot behind her. She leaned against him, batting his paw away when he went to ruffle her hair again. She glanced down at the bracelet now adorning her wrist, and tried to hide the flood of rosy red that branded her cheeks again.

"Thank you, Silver…"

"You're welcome, Snow…" Snow laid her head down atop Silver's back, and the two were soon fast asleep, huddled up against one another.

* * *

Things at the den weren't looking too good, and Winston wondered how much thicker the tension in the air was going to get. He looked over Eve protectively, the worry wearing more age into his facial expressions. His mate's breathing was shallow, and her fur had lost every bit of its once proud luster. Every now and then, she would whimper in pain, and hit made Winston wonder how much more she was going to be forced to suffer. Not that Eve was now the only problem on his plate. Garth, Lilly, and Anna came bursting into the den. Their fur coats were tattered and mucked up, and exhaustion wore like masks on their faces. Winston sighed—he could've used some good news right about now."

"D-dad, I can't find Snow anywhere! We've searched all over the territory." Lilly exclaimed.

"And Silver is missing too…" Anna whined. Winston shook his head.

"And Kate?"

"She's still looking. I'm about to head back out again." Garth Answered.

"Okay, just stay calm. They couldn't have gone too far—we'll find them." Winston had trouble believing his own words, but at least it got Garth and Lilly motivated to go out and look again. Anna didn't move. Her eyes were heavy, as though she had been crying her eyes out. Winston put his paw on her shoulder."

"He's the only pup I have…" Anna whispered.

"I know. Try to be strong, okay? He'll turn up." Winston's words didn't quite put her at ease. He let out another sigh and went out to get some fresh air. The entire den area was in a hidden static. Talk of impending doom for the sick Eve and the missing members were everywhere. It made Winston sick. With both Kate and Garth gone out looking, it had been up to him and Tony to keep things together.

"Dad!"

The voice had been Kate's, and to Winston's disdain, it again sounded like anything but good news. The young alpha female parted the bystander wolves. Normally, Hutch and Kandu would have been flanking either side of her, but instead they were helping to support another wolf that Winston hadn't seen before. Her brown fur was ruffled, revealing cuts all over her limping body, and on her arm, her fur was cut in such a way that it looked like a flame. She was nearly about to fall over. Winston dropped down from the den mouth and over to Kate.

"We found her along the riverside. She's hurt really bad…" Kate said before he could speak. Winston looked down to the she-wolf before him. She gazed up, and something dark made the old wolf grit his fangs. But as quickly as he had seen it, it left, revealing a subtle red color. Winston fought against his better judgment and motioned for Kandu and Hutch to take her into the den.

"Any sign of Snow or Silver?" At this, the female's head turned back slightly.

"No…I think maybe they might have left off the territory." Kate answered worriedly. Winston slapped his paw to his face.

"Did…you say Silver?" The she-wolf suddenly spoke in a very soft voice.

"Yeah, why? You know where he is?" Kate looked hopeful, but the newcomer shook her head."

"No reason…no reason at all…"

* * *

**_Will Silver and Snow make it in time? And just who is this mysterious she-wolf who has appeared on the scene, and what does she have to do with our two protagonists? Stay tuned to Silver Snow to find out!_**


	4. Precipice of Love

**_I'm sorry, everyone. I really tried to make this chapter as short as possible, but it still ran too long and had to be split into two parts again. I wanna thank everyone for their support on this story, and without any further delay, enjoy chapter 3, part 1!_**

Silver Snow

_**Chapter 3, Part 1: Precipice of Love**_

The cliffs that supported the long, winding trail were certainly something of great, natural beauty, etched within the vein-like crevices of the valley. Lush, green pine trees swayed in the slight breeze and dotted the grassy and rocky faces of the inclines in the land. Moisture had kissed the air heavily, due to the myriad of waterfalls—both great and minute—that littered the chiseled features of the valley, and Snow couldn't help but feel the beauty of it all wrapping around her in a thick blanket of fascination. As a matter of fact, her entire journey thus far had been filled with fascinating firsts. After they had gotten off the boat, she, Silver, and Arin had taken to several means of transportation to get around, ranging from simply walking along a rural dirt road to taking long, bumpy rides in the beds of passerby trucks through the urban areas. But now, as the trio made their way along the waterfall valley, Snow could easily attest that this had been her favorite location so far. And according to Arin, his village was close at hand, and thus, the key to saving Eve's life.

Snow took careful steps as she walked along the edge of the trail, gazing down at the tons of pink flowers that speckled the crevice in the valley below. She had only looked back for a moment to make sure Silver was still following her, and found his silver gaze meeting her warmly. Snow felt the corners of her mouth turn up in an instant smile, and when he smiled back, she became aware of the beaded bracelet now embellishing her wrist. It felt warm against her fur, and the warmth seemed to travel to her rapidly fluttering heart whenever her thoughts rewound to the night when she lay huddled up to Silver closer than ever.

"Have you two been paying attention at all?" Arin's voice suddenly snapped Snow out of her reverie, and Silver as well by the looks of it. "Honestly, I had better not have been just talking to myself—I've got exciting stories here." Arin had taken to walking backwards with a frown. The trail had taken a few twists and turns beneath a canopy of pine trees, but the otter seemed to deftly navigate without so much as a mistake.

"Of course we're listening to you, Arin."

It was a lie; Silver had long since stopped listening to Arin, who had been yammering on since they left a gas station a while back.

Arin frowned in disbelief and pounded his proudly onto his chest. "I said that you two are pretty lucky to have me leading you back to my village. You see, I'm kinda the top dog back home and not just a small little runt like everyone sees out here. Others really look up to me and always come to me whenever they need advice."

"So you're like the village elder, old man?"

"Exactly, that's what—" Arin rounded on Silver, "You trying to pick a fight, shiny eyes? Got something against my _esteemed_ status?"

"Only as much as being called 'shiny eyes' every ten seconds." Silver retorted over Snow's giggle. Arin puffed his chest, trying to make himself look bigger.

"You should be honored—I don't just pass out pet names to anyone."

Teriffic. So they had been down-graded to pet status now. Snow rolled her eyes playfully and started ahead towards the otter.

"Here, I'll come listen to you Arin. But I do have a question. If you're such an important guy, then how come you left home in the first place?" Her ears perked up as she spoke, "Was it for the same reason I left?"

"Err…" If Arin's response was a nervous one, then the nervousness had only lasted for a quick second, "Yeah, something like that, I guess."

As the young she-wolf walked, her tail—be it voluntary or not—had brushed up against her best friend's cheek. Silver only let himself react, allowing his cheek to nuzzle almost heavily into her fur; allowing his nose to gently caress the soft skin beneath the arctic-colored follicles and take in the scent. Snow must've noticed, for the two of them suddenly found themselves locked in a soft, almost hypnotic stare. Snow's cheeks flushed pink beneath her fur and her heart began to pick up once more. Though it had only lasted for a matter of seconds, their gaze had felt considerably longer and broke in an abrupt undertone of nervous chuckles. Arin watched the two wolves walking behind him and a sly grin spread on his face. He let himself fall back—just enough to be able to stick his foot out before Silver—and watched his prank unfurl. There was a thunk as the clueless black wolf suddenly fumbled over the otter's appendage. Before he could even yelp, his side crashed into Snow and the two wolves went tumbling down along the trail. Dust and debris kicked up in a huff and while Silver had expected a harsh landing on the ground, he instead was greeted by a soft, furry warmth.

"Silver…" Her friend's name rolled off her tongue faster than she could catch it. Snow lay on her back, Silver's body pressed warm and sure down against her own. His maw was only inches from hers; so close that she could feel the warmth of his breath blowing onto her mouth, and once again taste the subtle scent that drifted off his fur. Her eyes only pulled away from his—which seemed to be edged with a flicker of hunger—for a moment, noticing the relaxed, yet strong muscles beneath his sleek, black fur. Snow hadn't realized how strong her urge to touch him was, until she found her paw raising just slightly away from his muzzle. Silver didn't seem to mind, gently pressing his cheek just barely against the pads.

"I sure hope we don't lose our G-rating." Arin drifted past Silver and Snow, grinning from ear to ear and wiggling his eyebrows stupidly. The two wolves gasped in simultaneous realization, and Arin gave a slap-stick laughter. "You two are so clueless!"

"Arin!" Snow hastily (and regrettably) rolled from under Silver and pounced at the otter both out of hot embarrassment. Silver watched the two zig-zag down the path while willing his warm, thudding heart back to normalcy. He sighed; that could've been one more chance out of the possible many he had along their trip to tell her exactly how he felt and he still couldn't seem to do it. He couldn't understand why it seemed so hard; why he couldn't let the three simple words form themselves just as easily as he could say Snow's name.

"Ack! You win! You _win!_"

By now, Snow had pinned Arin into a mercy position. Her paws stretched his cheeks like a deflated beach ball and she only let go once she felt satisfied that he had learned his lesson. Rubbing his cheeks, the feisty otter hopped back onto the trail ahead of them.

"Can't blame me for trying to do you a fav—orrr!" Arin's voice suddenly melded into a yell as a loud snapping sound whipped the air. The wind rushed in his ears, cords of rope springing up off the ground until the otter was ensnared and suspended in what looked like some sort of rope cage. "What the—"

"Arin, are you okay—"

_Snap!_

Silver's stomach lurched; he and Snow abruptly found themselves being hurtled off the ground at whiplash-like speed. Ropes spiraled over their heads, intricately lacing through the shaking boughs of the trees above, until the two wolves were literally slapped against each other. Silver rubbed his head. The rope cages swung in odd, macabre motions, but not so much so that Arin's cage ever came anywhere near the wolves'.

"What is this?" Snow asked, finding it difficult to get to her feet in the netted prison.

"Is it a human's trap?"

"Not likely…" Arin let out a sigh, something in his voice betraying the earlier bravado he had shown. And for a second, a flicker of dark seriousness—or perhaps realization—reflected in his eyes. Silver frowned.

"Maybe we can chew our way through." Snow had already begun tearing her razor sharp fangs into the cords with a fierce growl. Silver nodded in agreement and had taken to chomping on the other end. It wasn't completely what he had expected; the ropes were slick and sticky, laced with a foul substance that stung Silver's tongue so bad that it went numb. The mess clung to the roof of his mouth like peanut butter, and it left a sickening trail when he pulled his maw away.

"I don't feel so good…" Snow's eyes lidded. Her entire body was trembling, until she was unable to support herself and slunk down into the net. Silver let out an panicked gasp of her name, only to hear Arin plunk down in the cage after them. Snow gave a groan under her breath. Her eyes fell on Silver before they finally began to flit shut. If Silver had called out her name, it was quickly cut off by a dryness in his mouth. His body began to feel weak under his own weight, and every muscle of his body relaxed almost at once. The unwelcomed nostalgia of being tranquilized returned and he swore under his breath, looking at the dripping substance laced within the rope. Poison. Silver could already feel his eyelids turning to lead. The wolf groped the ends of the cage in utter defiance, commanding his body to stay alert and focus. It was a losing battle, and Silver soon found himself toppling over Snow, consciousness slipping away.

* * *

He wasn't sure how long he had been asleep, but he definitely knew he had been out. So why did it feel like his body was moving? Silver let out a groan. His head was beginning to throb, as though all the blood was rushing to it, and found it difficult to open his heavy eyes. He was definitely moving. His body made up-and-down movements beneath the patter of footsteps and the trees of the area were passing by…upside-down? Silver shook his head—went to slap himself to affirm reality—but his paws wouldn't budge.

"Silver! Thank goodness you're awake." Snow's voice was a comforting sound to Silver's ears, coming off from his right. The white she-wolf was hanging upside down form a long, wooden pole. Her paws were tied against each other to it, so that she resembled a ham over a roast. Her head fur flailed away from her face, no longer hiding both of her vibrant emerald eyes. Through his time of quick admiration, Silver realized that he too was tied hanging from a pole, as well as Arin before them.

"Are you okay, Snow?" Silver asked.

"My mouth tastes like I ate a pile of pine cones and leaves." Snow answered.

"That seems almost the case. What the heck is going on?" Silver's mouth tasted like metal and salt, probably from whatever had drugged him.

"I'm not sure…" Snow glanced up. She could tell that the poles were being carried by otters as brown-and-tan furred as Arin was. But their faces were obscured by long, wooden masks almost as big as their bodies. "They look like Arin. Maybe they know him?"

Silver gave a skeptical snort, "Possibly, but then why are they carrying us off like we're a couple of hams?" Snow couldn't answer that and sucked her fangs slightly.

"Tee hee…fudge-monkies…" Arin grumbled, clearly still knocked out. Silver couldn't help but wonder just how much of that poison he had ingested before he was knocked out. Snow gave another defeated grunt as she tried to pull herself free. But the only thing she succeeded in was hurting her wrists. The two wolves gazed around at their surroundings. The trees and shrubbery were definitely getting thicker. So much so, that they could barely hear the crashing of the many waterfalls, and the light of the sun flitted in hundreds of thin beams through the holes in the canopy above. The otters that were towing them didn't speak, or even so much as look their way the entire time. They came to a stop before a massive thicket of vines that looked very unnatural—as if they were purposefully placed there in some mock attempt of mother nature's design. The front otter who had been carrying the pole holding Arin deftly outreached her paw to a vine that hung looser from the tree than the others. With a tug, the grassy cords clattered down to the ground, revealing a dark hole tunneling deep within the thicket of trees. Snow had to hold her breath slightly as they were taken through. A himid moisture clung to the damp confines of the tunnel, giving way to a fowl, wet smell along the wooden walls. Even though they had only been inside the tunnel for a few quick moments, the sudden burst of sunlight upon emergence to the other side stung in Silver's eyes.

The clearing was vast and wide, enclosed by trees along it's borders, though it looked like many of the boughs of the ones towards the middle were purposely ripped off to allow the sunlight to come washing through. Several long, dirt trails wound across the ground like veins, and a vast pond lay due north of the massive clearing. But what had amazed Silver and Snow the most were the many miniature grass huts that littered almost every inch of the area, and in turn, all the tons of otter faces that suddenly turned up their way. They didn't seem particularly inviting; many of the otters frowned, or looked upon them with what Silver thought were hungry looks. Though, that might've just been the blood rushing to his head again. The entire village had seemed to be in an uproar of conversation at first, but now they were all silent, moving aside as the masked carriers towed their captured wolves along the widest dirt trail.

"Ughn…" Arin groaned, starting to come around, "Whatever you do, don't bite the ropes."

"We figured as much." Snow said, glad to see Arin up again.

"Hey, Arin, you wanna help us out here?" Silver asked.

"Whadda you mean?" Arin gave his head a shake, and only realized that his paws were tied up when he tried to rub it. His vision focused slowly and he gazed upside-down at the moving world around him. A sharp gasp escaped his throat.

"Well, there are lots of other otters here. They all look like you in any case. Is this your village?" Snow asked him.

"Yeah…" Arin's voice didn't exactly gain Silver's and Snow's confidence. The little otter bit his bottom lip, his eyes wavering with a worry they had never seen in him before. It only confirmed what Silver had thought; he knew something that they did not. Before Snow could get another question out, the masked otters came to an abrupt stop at the end of the trail. The den that stood before them was the only raised portion along the otherwise flat land of the clearing. Even if its boulder-encased entrance lay above, it was easy to tell that the actual den slopped downwards, possibly going down into the ground itself. With an uncanny strength, the two otters slammed the pole holding Silver long ways up, jerking the young black wolf so that he had a clear sight of the den. Snow yelped from accidently smacking her forehead against her pole, and Arin replied with a sharp "Watch it!", not that he evoked anything short of a disdainful grunt from the masked otter. Silver's ears perked up and the trio shot their gazes up towards the den entrance. Footsteps pattered from deep within, getting louder and louder, until a figure had become silhouetted at the mouth.

He took a step out, his arms folded across his chest. Muscles rippled beneath the otter's fur, making him bigger than the other otters around him. Snow's nose wiggled; she could smell berries coming from the many red markings that striped his fur. The large otter silently and slowly looked them over, his eyes lingering on Arin in an intimidating stare.

"Aw crap!" Arin wiggled and squirmed in his spot, trying to somehow uproot the pole and hop off. For all it was worth, he may have gotten the chance if one of the masked otter's hadn't rapped a rock sharply against his head. "Seriously? Rock-throwing—"

_Plunk!_

"I'm shutting up!"

"Ah, Arin…" The large otter finally spoke, his voice a deep alto in comparison to Arin's. "I hadn't really expected to see you again. How long has it been exactly?"

"Four months, twenty days, thirteen hours, fourty-two minutes, and twelve seconds." Arin flashed a sarcastic smile. The large otter wasn't amused. He ran his fingers underneath his chin, taking another step towards the edge of the den entrance.

"It's nice to see you haven't lost your rapier wit."

"Nice to see you haven't lost some weight." Arin muttered under his breath, betrayed by a helpless snort from both Snow and Silver. The big otter frowned.

"You knew the consequences when you left the village traitor. The moment you set foot outside and abandoned your family, I washed my paws clean of you. And you still dare to return even after the gravity of what you've done? Bringing outsiders into our lands as well?"

At this, Arin really didn't respond. He was crestfallen, only letting his eyes meet the ground right before the den entrance. He might not have been trying to show it, but his ears had drooped for a slight moment. Silver felt a twinge of pity well up in the pit of his chest. Just what was he hiding anyway? He glanced over to Snow, who only shrugged her shoulders at him cluelessly.

"Chief Netu, shall we?" One of the masked otters stood at attention. Before the large otter answered, he held his gaze onto Arin.

"Do you have anything to say?"

"You're gonna let us go and pretend nothing happened?" Arin's sarcasm was half-done and lacked bite.

Netu gave a wave of his paw, "Go on then, take this traitor and these intruders to the feasting grounds and prepare the meal."

The surrounding otters seemed to go up in a sudden uproar of "Whoots" and cheers as the ones in the masks suddenly pulled up the poles out of the ground.

"Feasting grounds?" Snow blinked in confusion. "I sure hope they intend to just feed us…"

"Well…not exactly." Arin gave a nervous frown.

Silver would've slapped his paw to his face if he could've. Now the hungry faces from earlier suddenly made sense. With an exhasperated sigh, the black wolf turned to Arin, who seemed to be halfway lost within his own thoughts.

"They're going to eat us?" He proceeded to ask. Arin shook his head while they were being hauled through the thicket of passerby otters.

"They're probably just gonna roast me. It's you two they're gonna eat."

"All the comfort in the world." Silver groaned, already racking his brain for ideas. "I guess we could always just try to eat them first."

"But it's Arin's family, right?" Snow looked at her otter friend, then back to Silver. She wondered if he noticed it in her eyes that she half agreed with him. "We can't just eat them."

"They sure don't seem to have a problem eating us." Silver gazed down to one of the otters that was carrying him off, half expecting her to snap her fangs at him from underneath the mask.

"Arin, I thought everyone here looked up to you; you know, the top dog and old man thing you've been telling us about the entire trip. Why would they welcome you like this—or call you a traitor?"

Arin didn't answer her question. He had returned deep into his own reverie almost as instantly as she and Silver had begun talking. But it was only a matter of moments before his mind resurfaced back to reality, and he turned to flash a wide grin to his two friends. With a wink, he said, "Don't you two worry, okay? I have a very well thought-out and fool-proof plan to get us out of this mess."

* * *

"Please, please, PLEASE don't kill us! We're innocent, I tellz ya'! Innocent!" Arin shouted for the umpteenth time, and the look of annoyance was uncanny between Silver and Snow.

"Yeah, we're so dead."

"Yup…"

It was most certainly a heavy step down from Arin's pound-escaping plan, but then again, Arin hadn't been quite himself since they had entered the village. His normal bravado had been all but sizzled out, and an air worry loomed over his head like a darkening rain cloud. Every now and then, Silver and Snow would catch him looking out to his village, only for his ears to start drooping against the sides of his head.

By now, Silver was once again dangling upside-down from a wooden pole, and Snow had been deftly tied to the other side, so that the two were now back to back. The staff of wood was suspended over a sheet of flat, white rock that blazed with illumination from the overhead sun. Char marks clawed the very center in an ugly black mess, now being covered by slabs of chopped wood being carried out by the masked otters. It seemed that the entire village had come to speculate—or participate, as judged by the occasional licking of their lips. Eaten by cannibalistic otters; Silver couldn't imagine a more degrading encounter with death on their journey so far.

"Hey, Netu! Get your big furry butt over here and take me off this—Alph!" Arin—who was dangling from a pole just across from the wolves—frowned as an apple was shoved into his mouth. The masked otters finished piling up the slabs of wood and, in a show of sparks from bits of flint, ignited a fire beneath the captives. Silver cringed, trying his best to keep his fur from the rising, licking flames. Snow gave a low whimper of panic under her break and struggled in vain against the tight ropes binding her. The large, muscular otter—Netu—came to take his seat down into a throne that was made out of the same white stone facing towards the trio. His paws laced beneath his chin and he leaned forward, as though observing some form of entertainment. The otters in the crowd went up in jeers and chants, waving their paws into the air. The poles holding Snow, Silver, and Arin started to turn slowly, the red-hot fire threatening to reach up and ensnare them with every rotation.

Silver struggled hard, straining his body to brute force it's way through the bindings. He even tried to resort to biting at the wood, but seemed to think better of it as it would mean an even quicker fiery fate for him and his beloved best friend. The situation was grim indeed, and after a while, even he had to let out a defeated sigh.

"Hey, Snow…" Silver felt the bangs of his head fur slowly fall over his eyes, casting a shadow on his face.

"W-what?" Snow grunted, practically digging her claws into the wood from the slight rope burn her struggling gave her. The pole rotated down again and she flinched when the tip of a flame nearly kissed her cheek.

Silver continued. It didn't seem the appropriate time or place; not at all the romantic setting he had envisioned over and over in his head like a broken movie reel. But still, as he stared down into the fire, now was as good a time as any to speak up about his feelings. After all, it wasn't looking like he was going to have much time to do so otherwise. "Snow, there's…there's something that I have to tell you. That I've been meaning to tell you for a while…" He winced, feeling the heat in his face.

Snow sighed and relaxed back. Her eyes closed, but her ears were up and alert. "You can tell me anything, Silver…"

Silver took a deep breath. Already, he could feel his heart beginning to tremble against his chest nervously. He fought the lump down his throat and slowly began to speak again. "Snow…Snow, I lov—"

"What on earth is going on here? Stop this at **once**!" A loud, booming voice seemed to bound across the entire village clearing, causing everyone's gaze to look up towards the leading trail. At first, her figure had been completely shadowed in the distance. But it didn't take long for the blazing white of the reflected rock to bring the female otter's features into light. She was slightly smaller than most of the others in her village. Her pink eyes were as strong as steel, and—like Netu—her body was branded with many red markings that were made from berry juice. Her spiky bangs swish-swayed in each strong step, and as she fell towards the crowd, they parted away from her in an almost immediate respect.

"Unnggg…" Arin gave a rather intense look of annoyance. He spat the apple after a long moment of wrestling. "Things just went from bad to worse."

The female otter made her way onto the grounds, arms folded across her chest. Her frown caused her cheeks to puff up, and her eyebrows to angle down in steep disdain that made everyone in the crowd almost shudder. "I demand that fire be put out this very instant!" She barked in a command so fierce that the masked otters practically ran into each other before being able to procure enough water and hastily douse the flames. A pillar of smoke blew in Silver's and Snow's faces, causing them to hack. But at any rate, it was better than burning up.

"Alana…" Netu sighed and rose to his feet, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"Father! Why didn't you tell me my Arin has come back? I came out here half expecting tonight's dinner only to find you trying to burn him up!"

"Well he did leave…"

"And I told you he'd come back, and he did! Father, stop this madness right now." The female exclaimed and tapped her foot against the ground. Silver chuckled and shook his head. She was most certainly demanding enough. But the truth of the matter was that they were no longer going to get burned, and by the looks of it, may even have a chance of escaping being eaten by the myriad of cannibalistic otters.

"You'll see the problem with her soon enough." Arin didn't look at Silver, but seemed to answer both his and Snow's thoughts.

"Alana, this is hardly the time…" Netu looked like he was trying to pick out the right words—or hold the real words he wanted to say back. But Alana wasn't hearing it, and jabbed her finger back into Arin's direction.

"I still plan on marrying him."

"M-marry?" Silver and Snow exclaimed at once. Arin closed his eyes and sighed. He may have started to say something, but the ropes were suddenly yanked from around him and he found himself being uncomfortably hugged against the female otter. Her arms wrapped around his left one in something just shy of a death grip, and he tried his best to ease her back from his personal space.

"That's right. He and I have always been destined to marry, every since we were little otter pups. Arin may have run away, but he came back, see? He came back for me even when you said he wouldn't, father, isn't that right?"

"Uh?"

"Right?"

Arin suddenly whimpered under the pressure being induced on his arm. His foot stamped the ground several times and he shouted "yes" in the air wildly until she eased up. Snow blinked skeptically. So that's what he must've meant.

"He's not a traitor. He just needed some time to…" Alana tapped her chin with her finger, mulling the words in her head, "Time to go out and do his man business."

"My _what_?" Arin exclaimed and tried even harder to pull away. Alana's grip was iron, and the otter only managed to budge a few inches. Alana gave an unwanted coo and made awkward kissing sounds at his cheeks. Arin revolted.

"He won't run away again, Father." And then, she muttered under her breath, "Because if he does, he knows I'm gonna rip his cute little otter tail off and beat him senseless with it."

Silver and Snow jaws fell open slightly. That's exactly what they needed; a sadistic otter version of Eve who seemed to be pushing the envelope even further. Netu appeared even more annoyed than Arin, resorting to rubbing his fingers against his temples. The otters had turned their expectant gazes from their princess up to him. He was stubborn and stern, but the way he looked at his daughter through it all easily attested that he was one of those fathers who just simply couldn't tell her "no". With an exasperated sigh, he threw his paws up into the air.

"If this is what you really want then."

"Is this what you want, my love?" Alana turned back to Arin, who responded in an irksome cringe. She frowned and said darkly, "Or you could always go back to you and your friends being the main course."

Arin looked over to Silver and Snow, who were still tied up. He wasn't sure if they had caught the last part of Alana's conversation—their looks were pleading enough as they continued to hang upside down from the pole. His gaze then went out towards the tons of otter faces that looked on him both favorably and disdainfully. There was no real way to talk himself out of this, and to leave Silver and Snow to the mercy of all those hungry mouths was just wrong. Alana didn't seem to notice him suck his fangs, and with heavy reluctance, he nodded.

"Okay, but you have to set my friends free."

* * *

The village area had certainly shed its earlier air of aggressiveness and hunger, and had now become a lot more upbeat and festive. Radiant purple flowers were strung on every tree, cliff, and overhanging bough throughout the clearing, and the beating of paper drums echoed loudly. The air was filled with a sweet scent coming from a billowing purple smoke that drifted from a fire just inches from the center of the massive pond. Every otter now had adorned their bodies with several red berry markings and were dancing in wild circles around the shape of the pond's surface, or chatting lively with the others while eating. Silver sat next to Snow as the two of them gazed around at the festivities and ceremonial dancing. Thick scraps of meat and fish were pushed up to their paws, and they hadn't realized just how hungry they were until they had begun eating. Silver chanced a glance to what the otters might have considered the head of the pond. Arin sat beneath a canopy of tree leaves, his chin propped onto his paw. His fur, like the others, was branded with red markings that reached up all the way too his face and fingertips. His left arm was still caught in the clutches of Alana, who watched the dancing with half of her attention, and Arin with the other half, just to make sure he wouldn't run. And by the arid look on his face, he probably would have done it too. He didn't look at all entertained by the dancers; dazzled by the beauty; or even enticed by the festive spirit. He was probably too busy debating on whether or not he truly needed the use of his left arm. Silver couldn't help but feel something very wrong about being saved this way.

"Are you two doing okay?" Snow jumped and glanced back. Netu hovered behind them, his arms folded. His attention wasn't on them, but rather to a very pretty female otter dancer who had taken the center of the others.

"I'm doing fine, thanks." Snow smiled. She had been eating so fast that crumbs dotted her muzzle, and Silver felt the uncanny urge to start lapping them off of her again. But now that he had admitted his own affections for her to himself, he guessed he couldn't possibly attempt to do so without convulsing with embarrassment.

"I'm fine." He answered simply.

"That's good to hear." Netu chanced a glance to the black wolf. It was clear by the look on Silver's face that he hadn't forgiven him for being put on the menu earlier. The chieftain rubbed between his eyes with his fingers, as if choosing carefully the next few words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Arin and Alana have been betrothed since the day they were born. Though they had been childhood friends, I had hoped some sort of romantic feelings would have developed between them at some point. They did for my daughter." He let out a sigh, "But I wasn't so sure about Arin. On the day they were to marry, he left us without a word. In our village, abandoning the family is treason, no matter what the circumstance." Silver turned sharply to Netu's direction.

"Where are you going with this?"

"I guess I'm apologizing for getting you two involved. Since you were associates of a traitor, we attacked you too. But Arin seems to be taking responsibility now, and so I couldn't possibly bring myself to harm you." At this, Silver inwardly rolled his eyes. But at any rate, it was a lot better than being roasted over an open fire.

Snow looked out towards the female otter who had become the center of attention. Her body moved in liquid movements, twirling and spinning while the bracelets wrapped around her ankles and wrists clattered in loud jingles. The other dancers had stopped, and she had become the only one throughout the entire village who was moving. Her dance was hypnotic and Snow found her head bobbing to and fro to the rhythm of the paper drums in the background.

"Why's she the only one dancing?" Silver asked inquisitively.

"Ah, well, she has a very important role to play in our festival." Netu said in a matter-of-fact tone. "There's a legend in our village about an otter who had deserted the ties of his family. Because of that, the entire village fell apart—that's why we're so unforgiving when it comes to matters like that. It took centuries for our people to build it back up, but when we did, we vowed to never allow our people to be broken up again. But every now and then, it is said that the deserter, Luka, comes back to reap chaos whenever two mates find each other. This dance and ritual is to keep Luka from destroying the marriage and keep the mates happy and prosperous."

"It sounds similar to a legend we have back at our home, right Silver?" Snow turned to gaze Silver's way, and he took to using his paw to finally free the crumbs off her face. Snow blushed.

"Yeah, we do."

"Hmm…" Netu's face turned up into what looked like an unnatural grin as he looked slyly down to the pair of wolves. "Maybe the ceremony can work for more than one couple today."

"What do you mean?" The two wolves shot him an abrupt inquisitive look at the same time. The muscular otter just chuckled and walked off, asking them to enjoy the festival. It didn't take Silver long to get it, and he found himself once again within a perfect moment. His eyes slowly glanced over to Snow, who had gone back to enjoying the dancing. Almost immediately, his heart began to throb against his chest, and when he opened his mouth at first, nothing but dry air came, drowned out by the music. His voice had turned to lead once again. Mentally, Silver kicked himself; it felt so stupid for him not to be able to tell her something so simple. With a sigh, the black wolf rose to his feet.

"I'll be right back, okay?" He didn't wait for Snow to turn around and had already begun walking off.

* * *

Silver wasn't sure why he hadn't noticed the small breech in the village clearing that lead outside. Probably because he was so busy trying not to be someone else's dinner. The archway between the trees lead out to the edge of a grassy cliff that overlooked the valley of waterfalls. He walked all the way to the edge and plopped down, kicking up a few strands of grass to be taken away by the wind.

"Why can't I just say it…?" Silver voiced to no one in particular. He hung his head, allowing his eyes to shut. His mind wound back the memories; flipping through the millions of pages of Snow laughing, or smiling at him, or calling his name. Each one sent a shiver of warmth straight to his heart. Maybe there was another way for him to let her know how he felt without actually saying it; a more gutless method with all the same potency of the real thing. He doubted it. And even if he did say it, who was to say she'd love him back…?

_Clicky-clatter-clatter-clatter!_

Silver's ears shot up like radar. He rose to his feet, allowing himself to wander towards the loud and rapid clattering sound without much thought to himself. His paws crunched a few small twigs beneath his weight as he made his way back into the thicket of trees, the clattering getting all the louder. He rounded a corner and glanced up.

"Urk! Gah! I can't believe this mess—what kind of whack job puts this kind of crap here anyway?" The voice was like a mix of angry tweets and harsh growls. The tiny bird frantically flapped her wings with all the energy of a hummingbird, bouncing around within a small rope cage. Her feathers were as blue as the sky, with the exception of the white on her face and belly, and the black on her wing tips. Her orange beak rapidly rapped against the threads of rope to no avail. With every movement the bird made, a wooden makeshift bell clattered against the tree. No doubt another one of Netu's traps. Silver leaned up onto his hind legs, balancing his forepaws onto the trunk of the tree.

"Just hold on, I'll be up there to help you in a minute."

"Back off, buddy! I don't need your help. I don't need help from anyone!" The bird glared daggers at him before continuing to peck at the rope. She might have been able to, if she wasn't panicking and entangling herself in the ropes to the point of barely being able to move. Silver rolled his eyes.

"Sure you don't." He started up the tree.

"Geeze, I got this! Go find a tree to mark or something." The bird chirped sharply. Silver ignored her and deftly made his way up to the branch where the net was hanging. This time, instead of tearing into it with his fangs, he raked his claws in one swift motion across the surface. The rope net dropped and the bird crashed to the ground with a plop.

"W-whoops, sorry. Lemme help you."

"No! You've helped enough!" The bird coughed from landing on her tummy, and scrambled backwards when Silver advanced on her. Still, he used his nose to roll the ropes off of her, growling at her to calm down when a particular loop trapped her right wing when she tried to flap it. She was free, and the first thing she did was peck Silver sharply.

"Ow! What's your problem?" Silver rubbed his paw gingerly to his head. The bird fluttered just inches from his face, her frown furrowing her brow down low.

"I said I didn't need help—I would've been just fine."

"Yes, you were doing so perfectly well on your own up there."

_Peck!_

"Stop that!" Silver growled, "Sheesh, if this is how you repay someone trying to help, I wonder how you treat your enemies."

A dark grimace flowered onto the bird's face, the likes of which made Silver jump every so slightly. "Would you like to find out, wolf?" He shook his head. The bird looked as though she were going to peck him again, probably because he looked like he wanted to bite her. Instead, she huffed and floated off through the air above the trees. Silver rubbed the side of his cheek with his paw, muttering a "you're welcome" under his breath. It was turning into the pound inmates all over again.

"There you are, Silver—I've been looking all over for you." Silver whirled around to see Snow approaching him from behind. He noticed the difference immediately; Snow's head fur was pushed back in the same manner as her mother's, revealing both emerald eyes that stood out against the white of his fur. Silver's cheeks flushed in tender splotches of pink through his own white fur on his muzzle.

"I like it." He pointed out.

"Don't get used to it." Snow teased her tongue out at him, "I'm only keeping it this way for the wedding, which is starting right now by the way."

"Alright, I'm coming." Silver took to Snow's side, playfully bumping her over with his rump. She called him a pup and bumped him back, the two of them making their way back towards the village.

* * *

Though he was sure no one had heard him, Arin let out what seemed like his fiftieth sigh of the evening. His eyes wandered up through the opening in the trees that allowed sunlight into his village. Granted, he liked to be the center of attention, but not like this; not with the sadist otter back in his life. Princess Alana stood right across from him, her paw held up before her face and his own paw palm-pressed against it. She was beautiful, Arin gave her that. But the term "beauty is only skin deep" never rang more true than with the woman he was no standing amidst the center of the pond-circling crowd with. The thought of running tested Arin, but as he glanced out to Silver and Snow amongst the onlookers, he knew something that selfish would spell doom for them.

"Pay attention!" Alana hissed. Arin grumbled and the two of them began to perform a dance that felt like it came from muscle memory alone.

Silver and Snow weren't sure how they felt. All the other otters in the crowd gazed onto the dance with grand, romantic fascination. Even the proud already existent couples marveled in their own respect. The only one who didn't seem happy about it was Arin. Silver and Snow chanced glances to each other. Maybe no one else noticed their friend's occasional grimaces because they were the ones looking for it.

"Is this really okay…? He doesn't look too happy." Snow finally whispered to Silver.

"Doubt it. I don't know if he has much of a choice though." Silver breathed.

Arin carefully twirled Alana around the edge of the pond. Occasionally, flecks of water kicked up from the wet grass and he grinned darkly in his mind. He could always just dump her butt in the water. Alana smiled dangerously up to him, as if daring him to try it. The two of them danced closer, until their bodies were pressed warm against each other. The tempo of drums stayed steady, until Arin cold feel the end of the dance coming. He spun Alana down into a lean, holding her paw in one of his own. Slowly, his muzzle inched down towards hers. She closed her eyes, gripping clumps of his back fur in deep anticipation. He neared his nose so close to hers that they could practically kiss each other.

And then, he stopped. It took Alana a while to realize that, frozen in her expectant state. But when the kiss never came, her eyes snapped open with a crack of fire. Arin cringed, the return of Alana's iron grip keeping him from moving away. By now, the crowd had changed from anxious hopefuls to a cannon of murmurs.

"What are you doing?" Alana hissed.

Arin bit his lip. Few knew Alana as well as he did, and he knew enough to know she was likely to throttle him for what he was about to do. With a deep breath, he squeaked.

"I'm sorry, but I can't…"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I don't love you?" Arin flinched. He waited for a slap, or a punch, or—with cringing fear because she was _not_ above it—a harsh kick between the legs. But it didn't' come. Instead, Alana just smiled up at him.

"Surely you don't mean that, Arin."

"I'm serious—I can't marry you, Alana." Arin pulled her back up to her feet and looked at her. She was still gripping his back fur. "We were friends. We're still friends. But I don't think this is something we should do. Please, try to understand where I'm coming—"

"You JERK!"

_BAM!_ Alana had knocked Arin down onto the ground with all the ferocity of a mad bull, and then proceeded to stomp the otter in feverish, angry motions. How dare you, Arin? I trusted you—I believed you really came back for me! I _loved _you!"

"Did you really?"

_Stomp!_

"Mercy!" Arin tried to claw his way from underneath the furious fuming otter.

"Uh oh," Silver rose to his feet. His eyes darted from the growling and agitated otters in the audience. Anger mixed with a hint of insult charged the air with a dangerous static, generating a feeling of foreboding within the young wolf. Snow could feel the tension in the air so much so that she hadn't realized she was growling until it had escaped the pit of her throat. As the two wolves gazed at Arin, who was literally being tossed and flipped all over the ground, they wondered which outcome would have truly been happier—this or the fire.

"You have sealed your fate, traitor." Netu's muscular form loomed over Arin like a giant shadow. The smaller otter coughed for air beneath Alana. It just didn't seem right to not retort without a snappy comeback, but the Amazonian otter was too busy crushing his windpipe for that. "Take him away—all of them away!"

"All?" Silver and Snow jumped, but could barely move before a rope net dropped down on top of them from out of nowhere. The ends were weighted, so the wolves were knocked off their feet almost immediately. Just where the heck were they hiding all these traps at anyway? Snow struggled under Silver, but only succeeded in tangling herself up with him even more. Normally, she would have reveled in being so close against her best friend, but a sense of pathetic pity for herself overrode that emotion. Where they seriously going to be trapped the same ones twice in the same day? Snow's claws were ready to slice their way out. But they never got their chance; the otters in masks were already on the two, aiming poles with jagged ends down to their faces. Arin's arms were held behind his back and he was hauled down to the ground on his front. There was a sudden blaze of heat—the fires on the feasting grounds were roaring once more. Snow was hoisted overhead first, followed by Silver. Their legs flailed helplessly, and the entire village went into an uproar once they were hauled off.

"W-wait, hold on—is this really necessary?" Snow exclaimed. For all the good it did her, none of the masked otters responded.

"Open to any and all plans." Silver voiced through a grit, still trying to work his claws through the nets (only to receive a sharp jab in the paw from a spear).

"Yeah, preferably, ones that don't involve me being married off to crazy psycho women." Arin chimed from behind them. They were closing in on the feasting grounds, the flames roaring on the scorched white rock. But there were no poles like before. Were they just going to toss them right into the flames? The masked otters whipped their spears across the net enough to free Snow away only. She yelped as they pulled her away from the other two, towards the spire of heat.

"Silver!" Snow cried out automatically, not understanding what made the tiny masked otters so much stronger than the three of them. The sinking sun blared orange against the white rock and the fire seemed to reach out towards her, as though begging to receive her. Silver's voice had called Snow's name, but the sounds quickly started to drown out within his thoughts. His own fire began to burn inside of him, crawling up to the edges of his vision. He felt the rage building; the taste of hate and power welling up in his mouth before coursing through every muscle within him. A deep, dark growl escaped Silver's throat, as the murderous intent began to take over him…

**_Well, this certainly doesn't seem to bode well for Silver and Snow. Will they be given to the fire? Or will Silver be forced to succumb to whatever darkness is inside him? Tune in soon to the next part of chapter 3!_**


	5. Precipice of Love, Part 2

**_Sorry for the late update, everyone. I kinda shut down during thanksgiving break and now I have to restart again to get through finals week. But slowly but surely, this fic will be completed! Thank you again for the support, and without further delay, I give you the next part to Chapter 3 of Silver Snow!_**

**_Chapter 3: Precipice of Love, Part 2_**

"Beware, all fools of this land who have dared to defy our sacred ways!" The voice boomed from out within the trees, shaking the boughs and the leaves. Everyone froze. Silver felt reality deliver a harsh slap back down to him, and he wasn't sure that he himself had heard the voice until it had sounded again. "The ancient customs have been broken; the path of unity defiled! Beware all those who dare to leave our homeland and visit my wrath upon it, the likes of which never have been seen under the sun!" Snow's head whipped around so wildly that her head fur slapped back over her face. It was as if the voice was coming from everywhere and yet nowhere at all. Silver noticed that too, but what he also noticed were the faces of the otters in the village. They looked utterly terrified, some of whom were even shivering in their spots. The voice coached elicit growls of fear out of the ones in the masks, though even they seemed too stunned to move.

"Fools! I come upon you now!" The voice shot like a thunderclap.

"It's Luka! He's come to destroy us all again!" Silver wasn't sure who had said it, but the next thing he knew, he was landing harshly on his back.

"Augh!" He rolled over in pain. Snow had been dropped, panicking away from the flames only to crash into Silver. The village had gone from dark, insulted anger to a massive hysteria. Otters jumped over and crashed into each other, trying to make their way in manic sprints in every direction possible. Food was dropped; doors were slammed shut, and Silver had to huddle up over Snow just to make sure no one stepped on her. Arin coughed, rolling from side to side from the stampede (but not before being absentmindedly knocked into a pile of firewood). There was no trace of Alana near him. That was good; he'd much rather deal with the risk of being stepped on as opposed to being choked to death.

"I come upon you! I come upon you!" The voice wavered in ghastly wails. A long, inky shadow slowly began to slink along the ground, intensified by the lowering of the sun. It was very large, stretching out almost completely across the village grounds.

"Nooo! He's here!" The village otters let out blood-curdling screams and, in a matter of moments, the clearing was covered in a thicket of dust and debris. Snow covered Silver's muzzle for him when he started to cough and gazed around. There was no one in sight. The village had turned into a ghost town in only a matter of minutes. Where all the otters had gone, she wasn't sure, but she couldn't say that she was really complaining either.

"Beware! Beware! B-be—ahhahaha!" The voice had gotten a lot softer and high pitched. It was faint, but Silver and Snow could hear the pattering of tiny footsteps coming from one of the distant trees. The laughter came closer, and when she came out of the bushes, Silver felt a grin spread across his face.

"What a bunch of idiots." The blue bird patted impossible dust off of her feathers. "I can't believe that actually worked."

"That was you?" Snow sat up and blinked. The bird put her feather to her chest proudly.

"Of course it was me. Those idiots don't deserve to have a meal for the crap they put me through. Dodging traps in this place is hell, so they're gonna pay with growling stomachs and a sense of stupidity." The bird said.

"We really owe you one, huh?" Silver piped up, but the bird jumped back, frantically waving her wings.

"Oh no—You've done enough helping for one day. Just stay back from me."

"You two know each other?" Snow glanced over to Silver, who nodded.

"Sort of," He said, "We met when I left off. I helped her out."

"You made me fall flat on my face." The bird frowned, placing her feathers on her hips. "Some big helper you are."

"Hey, it was an accident, okay?" Silver exclaimed, not really understanding why he was starting to get riled up."

"I said I didn't need anyone's help because I knew that would happen, you clumsy dog!" The bird hopped up onto his muzzle, butting her head against his.

"Then next time, I'll just leave your feathery butt in the net so we can all be happy."

"Next time, I'll just let you all get eaten up—"

"What's your name?" It was the only interjection Snow could think of at the time. "Isn't it right that we at least know the name of the one who saved us?"

"Not that it's important for you to know, but my name is Bianca." The bird answered, ruffling her plumage proudly. She must've really wanted them to know anyway.

"Bianca? Well, thanks—if it wasn't for you, we'd probably be barbequed by now." Snow stepped forward, "I'm Snow, and he's Silver." Bianca nodded and hopped off of Silver's muzzle with a little too much force. She made her way over towards the pile of firewood that seemed to be moving slightly and folded her wings.

"Hey, you," She said sharply. Arin jumped and accidently knocked over the pile of wood. His eyes had been clenched shut, but upon looking around and seeing the completely deserted village, he seemed to ease up a bit. With a sigh, he made his way back over towards his friends.

"Whew, really dodged a bullet there, huh? It's a good thing Birdy over here had a…backup…plan.." The small otter's voice trailed off. Silver, Snow, and Bianca loomed at him with frowns branded on their faces. The staring was so intense that Arin found himself talking an intimidated step back. "W-what? Is there something on my face?" He stammered.

"You've got some serious explaining to do, Arin." Silver said.

"Yeah. What was all that stuff earlier about being so important? They nearly burned us the moment we got here." Snow stated.

"Not to mention the traps," Bianca pointed out, "I assume that if you were dumb enough to get caught in them, they didn't set them until after you left, which means they were meant for you."

"Uhm.." Arin felt himself starting to sweat, taking yet another step back. The stares of his friends seemed to go right through the fur and into his soul. He hated being in the hot seat like this. "Well, it's complicated…" He fumbled, but knew that wasn't enough. Arin sighed and rubbed the side of his cheek with his paw. There was no sense in hiding it now. "Alright, alright. I made it all up, okay?"

"Why?"

"I dunno…I guess because you two believed me. Truth of the matter is no one ever really looks up to me at all, especially around here." He poked his fingers together nervously, "I never got a say in anything. Everyone just kinda did it for me. It felt nice to actually have someone look up to me for once and…well, I guess I got a little carried away."

"A little?" Snow grimaced.

"A lot—I got carried away a lot!" Arin looked down at his feet and started to twirl the ground with his toe. His ears dropped to the sides of his head and his tail tucked down low. "I'm sorry I lied to you." But when Arin looked up, Silver and Snow had already begun to turn to leave. Bianca floated after them, though she didn't seem to be following them in particularly. The otter rubbed the back of his head. It's not like he had expected anything less than that to happen. He turned to gaze at his now deserted village. The quiet wouldn't last long, but just long enough for him to run off again.

"Arin, what are you doing?" Silver glanced back and Arin's head snapped up. "Aren't you coming? We still have to find the Asimi Bloom, remember?" Arin's ears shot upwards and he pointed to himself.

"You mean you aren't mad at me?"

"Oh, we're still mad." Snow turned around, then smiled sweetly. "But we forgive you. We're friends, right?"

Arin hadn't known his tail could wag like it did until he felt the tremor in his hind quarters. He took just one step forward at first, unsure if he had heard them right. Silver patted the spot on his back with his tail, and the otter practically leapt onto the black wolf.

"Thanks..." His voice was soft and tender, unguarded with sarcastic wit.

"Not to interrupt the moment or anything," Bianca hovered overhead backwards, "But I think we should get out of here."

"I'm sure we'll have a little bit of time before Netu's tribe comes back." Silver looked up to her.

She frowned and pointed a wing forward. "Less time than you think." He had hoped in vain that it wasn't what she meant. But even before he, Snow, and Arin turned around, Silver already knew what he was going to find. The bushes surrounding the village outskirts had begun to rustle. Paws and feet were the first to emerge, parting the shrubbery so that the rest of the bodies could follow. Furious grimaces branded the otters faces while they came out back into the clearing one by one. The one's with spears clutched them with such intense grips that fear of the wood splitting was imminent.

"Why does it always seem like we have to run from something?" Snow exclaimed as she and Silver took off running. The otters let out a loud holler and rampaged towards them in fits of fury. Bianca soared over the wolves and acted like a beacon, dipping down through a crack in the trees and motioning for them to follow. The trail was thin, but still visible, taking winding turns through thickets of strong-scented pine trees. Streaks of orange and yellow inked across the grass-and-dirt ground, casting shadows that made the trees look like tall, pointed arrowheads on the land. Silver, Snow, Arin, and Bianca could hear the rapid pounding of moving feet closing in on them from behind. They refused to look back, lest they see just how close the rabid otters actually were.

"Do you have any idea where we're going, Bianca?" Snow asked under a pant. A few stray branches from the bushes snagged at her fur from the trail being so narrow.

"Away from them; far, far away from—" Bianca's voice cut off as she veered a sharp left, right as a fly-by net shot past her and into the air. She almost struck a tree and fought to right herself. "Do they have this entire valley booby-trapped?"

As if to answer her question, the ground under Silver shifted; two nets came spiraling down his way, plopping to the ground as he pranced away from them deftly. A large log nearly swung into Snow's face, and the two wolves were literally bobbing and weaving along the pathway. Snaps and creaks echoed in a makeshift mechanical and dangerous chorus throughout the forest from whipping rope lassos, or cages made out of wood that seemed to drop down from out of nowhere. Arin put a death grip on Silver's back, threatening to tear the fur out by the roots.

"Don't let them escape!" Netu's voice howled with rage. The otters let out a shrill battle cry and Silver suddenly let out a sharp whimper that almost made Snow stop in her tracks.

"Silver—"

"I'm fine, keep running!" Silver barked. He knew his hind leg was bleeding from the spot where a thrown spear had struck him. The sting was unforgiving, but now wasn't the time to give into such petty pains. His focus was, for the most part, on Snow, making sure that he would be ready the moment another trap sprang at her. But his worry was placed on the wrong one.

"Whaaa!" Arin screamed. He didn't know how the rope looped around his waist had gotten there. But his stomach gave a sickening lurch as he was suddenly yanked right off of Silver's back. "Some assistance, PLEASE!" He coughed loudly.

"I've got him!" Bianca—who had been performing acrobatic aerial maneuvers around flyby nets and thrown spears—read the worried look on Silver's and Snow's faces, taking to swooping back down. Her body twirled in a rapid spiral; Bianca's beak sheered through the rope around Arin with such force that he tumbled into a thicket of bushes. He barely had the time to catch his wits about him. Bianca was already tweeting behind him.

"Get up and _move_! Now!"

_Shink!_

"Ahhh!" Arin let out a horrified (if not a rather high-pitched) scream as a duo of wooden spears landed in the ground just inches from between his legs. "They're after my happy spot!" The otter shouted and took off running as fast as his legs could carry him, with Bianca right behind him.

Snow couldn't get the sound of Silver's whimper out of her head. She knew he was hurt. She also knew he wouldn't admit to it, not right now. In times like this, he always became so single-mindedly concerned for her, and it flattered her. But it also scared her, for the fact that his own safety always seemed to be disregarded. Didn't he understand what it would do to her if something happened to him? Didn't he understand that she needed him around; that a world without Silver was just—But the young she-wolf stopped her thoughts right there. She needed him around The thought echoed in several warm octaves, resounding into her chest to the point of tickling her heart. Snow did need him around and…she needed more than that. She needed Silver to be okay for a deeper, more selfish reason that she could feel surfacing now. Or rather, it had always been there and she was just now starting to really notice it.

"Snow, look out!"

Snow gasped, suddenly finding herself lurching forward. Silver had rammed his body into hers form behind, just as a flat wooden cage came slamming down to the ground with such force that it left an imprint in the dirt. For a moment, time stopped as Snow turned back to glance at Silver. Their eyes met and though no words were exchanged, they could sense a deep feeling of elated appreciation between each other. But time had sped up again and the two wolves began to tumble down the trail with each other once more. Silver didn't realize that the land started to decline until their rolling speed had picked up considerably. Probably because he was too busy making goo-goo eyes at Snow to notice. He and his best friend rolled and bounced like a couple of furry balls, ricocheting off the trees until a sickening dizziness had begun to tug at their stomachs. There was a sharp rush of wind as the trees of the forest were suddenly shed, and Snow found herself being flung out from atop a high cliff. The valley below was vast and wide, littered with scores of waterfalls that veined the cliff sides. She screamed loudly, however, the air had swallowed up her voice as gravity took hold of her.

"I've got you, Snow!"

Silver's body leaned over the edge, his paws grasping tight around hers. He swore at the nagging pain in his leg. Snow whimpered in fear, dangling to and fro and not daring to look down. Her feet frantically tried to find some kind of footing on the cliff face, but the tip jutted out too much for that. The air was heavy with moisture, spraying the two wolves with drops of water from a grand rushing waterfall a slight ways beside them.

"J-just hold on, Snow." Silver's eyes were strong and reassuring. And though she was dangling hundreds of feet from impending doom, Snow was comforted and felt the fear ebbing slightly. An infectious smile crossed between them.

"Coming through!"

Silver's head turned back. Arin was already having a hard time fighting to keep his equilibrium as he ran a little too fast down the incline from deep within the forest. On top of that, otters from the village opening were spilling out from the trees and shrubs by the droves. Their voices resounded like sharp knives that cut through the opening of the forest, some of them waving their spears over their heads at the ready. Silver clenched his fangs, his eyes darting constantly from the stampede of tribal otters down to the cliffs below his dangling friend. What a choice; get speared to death, or fall to their doom.

"Silver…" Snow's voice was soft in his head, and it made Silver all the more serious. No, dying wasn't an option. The black wolf racked his brain hard, his eyes darting around in manic surveillance of the area around him. All the while, he felt his grip on Snow start to slack—there wasn't much time.

He had no choice. With a sigh, Silver summoned every muscle in his body to heave Snow upwards through the air. She screamed out of fear, probably thought he was crazy, but then, he was pretty sure he himself was crazy for even trying a stunt like this. Silver took a slight running start and hurtled himself like a spear off the edge. His body met Snow's much faster than she could fall, his arms wrapping around her in a tight hug. It didn't take long for gravity to grab onto them, yanking them down out of the air and down towards the vast valley below. But Silver had no intention of being smashed to bits. He forced his body to spiral ever so slowly, but enough so that they floated in line with the massive waterfall nearby. He put his paw on the back of Snow's head, hiding her face in his chest so that she wouldn't have to look down. She buried her face into his fur, her paws gripping his back. Even though she was falling; even though she knew she should have been scared out of her wits, she wasn't anymore. Not with Silver this close to her, comforting her.

"A-are you two crazy?" Arin had shouted, but it wasn't as though he could really stop himself. His feet moved too fast for his mind to keep up, and the next thing he knew, he was running off right off the edge of the cliff. He yelled and reached to in some frantic desperate attempt to grab something—which at that time, had been Bianca's tail feathers.

"H-hey! Hey! ARIN, YOU DOLT!" But soon, Bianca's voice too was drowned out by the eminent force of gravity.

* * *

The splash down wasn't as bad as he had thought, but Silver could attest to the fact that he was all but done with leaping over the edge of waterfalls for the rest of the journey. They had missed the rocks, which was all the fortune in the world considering that a trail of wooden spears had followed them down from above, barely missing them. But the otters, who were way up upon the top of the waterfall cliff didn't look all too thrilled to repeat the performance of their targets, and so retreated after glaring over the edge. Silver was the first to come up, still clutching on Snow for dear life. She coughed and sputtered against him and he felt a twinge of guilt for keeping her under too long. Their head fur hung limp over their faces and the two of them started to slowly drift outwards into the pool of water.

"A-are you okay?" Silver hacked, not realizing he had taken in water as well.

"Aren't I always?" Snow coughed again, but looked up at him through a wet-furred smile.

"Gah!" Arin came up and splashed around frantically. He knew he had seen Bianca go under with him, but now she was nowhere in sight. "Birdy? Birdy, where'd you go off—yeowch!"

"Uhhh!" As Arin leapt up through the water from a peck to the rump, Bianca broke the surface, gasping and coughing for air. She pointed at Arin irritably, but couldn't seem to say anything at first, spitting out more water. Through several angry pants of breath, she treaded the surface of the water.

"Y-you dumb otter. You trying to drown me?" She was already making her way out towards the shore, and Arin just rolled his eyes. He placed her on his back, able to out-swim her easily, and got her to dry land. The bird shook her feathers and they puffed out like a blue and white cushion. Bianca gave Arin a look; she knew he was about to laugh and dared him to so much as crack a smile at her.

Snow pulled herself up onto dry land, helping Silver out of the water. Drops dripped in heavy faucets from their fur, but they didn't bother to shake it off just yet. Their eyes met again, and it was Snow who had broken the silence.

"That was the craziest and bravest thing I've ever seen." She giggled, one of appreciation; out of happiness just to still be alive.

"I learned from the best, right?" Silver gingerly pushed her head fur away from both of her eyes. The back of his paw gently caressed the top of her head, down to her cheek in slow motion before he dropped it to the ground. But Snow could still feel the warmth of his touch lingering on the skin underneath her wet fur. Her body leaned forward as an inaudible, elated sigh escaped her breath. It didn't last too long, though. The reality of Silver's injury had come back to Snow, and she immediately started to fuss over it.

"Lemme see it."

"Snow, really, it's nothing." Silver interjected immediately, but Snow was already moving behind him. He turned back to face her, dodging her circling until they were literally dancing around each other.

"Silver, stop being such a pup and let me see how bad it is."

"It's not bad, everything's fine."

"Then let me have a look!"

"Snow—Hey!" Snow had resorted to biting one of Silver's paws while they were circling each other; he lost his balance, not only tripping, but taking her down with him. The two wet wolves tumbled onto the dirt with Silver on the bottom. "Seriously, Snow, it's not that big of a…" Silver found his voice slowly trailing off, and if Snow was going to say something, she hadn't gotten the chance to. When he had turned his head to face her, his nose had accidently pressed gingerly up against hers. The two wolves froze. Heat welled up from within their chests, coursing throughout their bodies all the way up too the tips of their ears. Snow's eyes became beautifully hypnotic to Silver, and judging by how she made no conscious effort to move away, it was probably the same for her. Silver could taste the words in his mouth. It seemed different this time around; he wasn't the one fighting for the words to come out, but rather the words themselves seemed to be fighting for him to hurry up and say them.

"Snow…" He breathed against her mouth, their noses still pushed against one another's.

"Silver…?" Snow's voice caressed him like a soft stroke into his ear.

"Snow…I—"

"Wheeet! I guess we better get going, Birdy; looks like things are getting a little hot around here." Arin's grin spread from cheek to cheek, and Silver felt the sudden urge to chuck him down yet another waterfall. Bianca looked indifferent.

"Hey, if they wanna stick around and make out, it's not like I'm stopping them." She shrugged her shoulders. Snow hastily, but reluctantly drew away from silver, busying herself with straightening her forelock. Her cheeks were a clear shade of red and she knew she wouldn't be able to look at her best friend for a moment.

Silver sighed, half dwelling on his ruined moment. "Anyone know where we are?"

"I do," Bianca perched on a low tree branch, "But I'm a bit curious. What're you guys doing out here anyway? I haven't seen you around before today since I got here."

"We aren't from here. We came all the way out here from Jasper park." Silver answered the blue bird.

"My grandmother—she's sick, so we've been traveling to try and find the Asimi Bloom to cure her." Snow said.

"I'm just being a leech, since I don't have a home to return to anymore." Arin stated openly.

Bianca took to fluttering off, as if silently bading them to follow. Though they weren't particularly low in the valley, they had still gone down quite a way. Instead of few grand waterfalls, the grassy land was decorade by many miniature ones, coupled with small pools flecked here and there. Cliffs towered over them, some of which were decorated with the mouths of caves. The sun lazily slunk down beneath the horizon, and purples had begun to streak the orange sky.

"I know where the Asimi Bloom is supposed to be—but why on earth would you have gone through the otter village? You really that fond of taking the long way?" Bianca finally asked after a while. Arin jumped. Silver and Snow had turned their heads to him sharply. He waved his paws frantically.

"Figures," Bianca rolled her eyes, swaying through the tops of the trees. "You could have saved some time, but there's no point in dwelling on that now. I'll go ahead and show you—I know the quickest way."

"Would you really?" Snow's tail had begun to wag. Bianca nodded and she, Arin, and Silver took to following the bird across the valley trail. The trees had thinned out on their path, taking refuge in the cliffs higher up that cast blotted shadows everywhere. Stars had already begun to dot the night sky and the moon was preparing to take the place of the sun. Silver smiled; something about the full moon always made him feel comforted by a sense of unexplained familiarity and nostalgia. Maybe it was just a wolf thing. He never questioned anyone about it before.

"So what's your story?" Snow had to have asked Bianca for the fourth time. She and Arin had been raining questions on Bianca ever since, and the short-tempered bird found her temple throbbing irritably.

"Knock it off." She tweeted, "And pay attention to the topography. There's lots of water around, which means we're getting close—the flower needs a large water supply to live—"

"Why are you so guarded?"

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" The blue bird landed on a minute cliff and ruffled her feathers at Arin. Arin folded his arms.

"You're guarded. Trust me, I know guarded when I see it. Why don't you open up to us? We're all friends here."

"I'm not gonna open up to you—I don't even know you!" Bianca exclaimed. But she hardly managed to offend the wily otter.

"Get to know us, then."

"I know enough." Bianca fluttered up ahead, her tone finalizing the conversation. Meanwhile, Snow had backed to Silver, who was bringing up the rear. She had finally gotten to look at his leg after he decided to stop caring for it. The wound wasn't deep, and the water had washed it thoroughly. Still, Snow couldn't help but give it a tender lick. Silver smiled, then let out a yawn.

"Are you tired?" Snow asked.

"It's not easy jumping off cliffs and waterfalls like some kind of super wolf." Silver teased. He wasn't that tired, but the day was starting to take its toll. Not just in him, but everyone. Bianca flew in a quick circle overhead, as if surveying the area. Pink flowers bloomed unchecked along the ground and there was yet another pool of shallow water leading from the mouth of a cave embedded in the cliff side.

"Let's rest here. It makes little sense if we walk till we drop."

"I agree." Arin plopped down atop the grass. It was soft against his fur and the occasional gentle breeze carried a sweet, inviting cent from the flowers. Bianca hopped to the edge of the pool, taking her spot a lot further away from the others. Snow was more restless than tired. Through all the mad running, narrowly escaping death, and searching for her grandmother's cure, she hadn't forgotten that she was also out to explore the world beyond. She wandered off from the group. Silver tilted his head before following after her. He caught up to her side, not really saying anything, but enjoying the closeness. A smile spread on Snow's face and she found her side leaning against his. A gentle breeze ruffled their fur softly, and flecks of light from nearby fireflies danced all around them. Silver felt a warm, content feeling wash over him as he watched the lightning bugs slowly ascend overhead, as though they were apart of the stars of the night sky.

"Tag," Snow's paw rapped Silver's shoulder and by the time he looked down, she was already prancing ahead of him. He grinned playfully and followed after her. The two wolves made small parts in the untouched grass as they flailed around each other. A tag back often lead to a playful roll or tackle that danced on the edge of the water pool, flecking scores of fireflies into the air. Snow's paw shoved Silver off of her when he had tackled her and she took off to the mouth of the cliff side cave. Water splashed into Silver's face, but he easily caught up to her. Though the light of the moon was cut off, the inside of the cave remained luminous in a spectacle that made the two wolves marvel.

The hanging stalagmites were embellished with a sparkling white dust that refracted light magically all over the place. Illumination and shadows played on each other, reflecting the cave ceiling in the mirror-like pools of water. Silver's paw brushed the floor; a small cloud of the dust kicked up over Snow, causing her already snow-white fur to glimmer like a star. When she looked back at him, Silver almost stopped breathing. Her eyes held a different, stronger kind of affectionate air than he had ever seen before. The emerald shimmered and lit up her beautiful face and he felt his heart trembling in his chest. There was no denying the spark of energy that had gone between them; a mass of unspoken chemistry that drew them in towards each other. Still, there was a glimmer of playfulness that caused Snow to splash Silver heavily with the pool water.

"Snow!"

"Ha!" She laughed and darted off. Silver shook his fur and bound after her. His head fur slapped his face, water splashed up all around them, and he could honestly say that he was never happier than he was right now. Silver lunged, his body crashing into the she-wolf. The two of them tumbled and the male found himself pinned under his friend in the shallow water on his back. Snow made no resistance this time. Her eyes took all of Silver in; her body tingled as his warmth clashed with hers. His scent wafted through the wetness of his fur, and she pushed his head fur back so that his eyes locked back onto hers. The familiar energy returned in spades. Urges shot in pulses to every nerve in her body; the urge to hold him; the want to feel him as close to her as possible, her muzzle grazing his own. It was as through all the emotions she had kept inside were now overflowing too fast for her to control. Silver felt it too. He smiled, a loving, affectionate smile to her, placing his paw to her cheek. He wasn't sure when it had started, but he was certain that their muzzles were drifting closer and closer together, feeling his loved-one's breath on his mouth.

Silver was beyond words, and simply reacted. His nose suddenly pressed up against Snow's, close enough so that even the lips of his maw was brushing hers.

"Huh?" Snow gasped and drew her head back as quick as a whip. It had come so quickly, and now her whole body was surging with a high-voltage energy. She wasn't sure how red her cheeks were, but she could definitely feel them burning. Silver just smiled. He didn't have to say it for her to know. Snow's look of surprise slowly melted away, and before she knew it, she found her nose pressed back down against his, rubbing and nuzzling as her arms wrapped around his neck. Silver let out a happy sound. His tail fluttered against Snow's and his nose only broke away to nuzzle the side of his face affectionately against hers. She closed her eyes, not daring to break away from him as she returned the gesture just as heavily.

"Silver…" Snow breathed barely over a whisper.

"Snow?" Silver's voice sounded soft, layered thick with affection.

"What you wanted to say earlier…can you tell me now?"

"Yeah…" Silver's paws gripped Snow's back fur gently. The words eagerly rolled off his tongue this time. "I love you, Snow…I've always been in love with you. From the time we met; the time you made your promise to me, I've been so much in love with you."

"I love you too…" Snow whimpered lovingly into his ear. Silver felt himself melting under her and wanted to stay laying there beneath her. But truth be told, the water was starting to bug him and Snow didn't want him to catch a cold. She reluctantly let him up and the two made their way out of the cave. They stopped at the mouth, leaning huddled close together and keeping their heads pressed together. It was Silver who had let his gaze wander back up towards the moon first. The glowing white orb filled his soul with an even brighter warmth and, taking a deep breath, he let his body react. The howl that escaped his throat was deep and musical—like an extension of the love in his heart. The sound floated along the wind, spiraling along the trees until it was a glorious echo throughout the valley. Snow leaned her head back, her chest just inches away from Silver's. Her own musical howl released into the air, warming and caressing his in deep affection that spread across the land. In their howls; in their hearts, they had become one.

"Heh, it's about time." Arin dipped his feet into the water, sitting on the edge of the pool next to Bianca. His ears had perked up, enjoying the musical concert of love resounding into the air. Bianca had taking to bathing in the pool, but couldn't deny the beauty in what she was hearing. Still, she tried to act indifferent and found another topic to talk about.

"Arin, I have a question."

"What's up, Bianca?"

"The village didn't seem eager to take you back with open arms. So what I don't understand is why would you go back, knowing that?" Bianca asked. Arin bit his lip. All that talk about being guarded was coming back to bite him in the butt. He fumbled with his paws, looking at his reflection in the pool being rippled by Bianca's bathing. With a huff, he spoke.

"I wanted to leave…they controlled my life because I never did anything about it. And for that, I resented them. But still…" He lingered, "they're still my psychotic family. I just wanted to see them again." Bianca looked up to him. The look in his eyes were genuine, flickered with an edge of sadness. She had touched such a sensitive subject and couldn't understand why he'd even tell her the truth in the first place. Arin slipped over to her. At first, the blue bird jumped and felt the immediate urge to strike him. But as his paws laid on her shoulders; as his fingers started to caress water delicately over her plumage, she relented and closed her eyes. She muttered a thanks that was barely audible.

"Heh. You act tough, but you're really a big softy underneath the roughage." Arin grinned.

"Shut up," Bianca's murmur was stuttered by a shiver from being groomed. Her eyes hadn't opened, but Arin could tell he was starting to pull back the layers. Or maybe she had been waiting for someone to pull them back for her. She seemed to mull her thoughts around in her head before finally deciding to speak.

"You…asked what my story was earlier. I guess I can tell you, since you told me yours."

"Finally, I was beginning to think you didn't like us."

"No, this has to stay with just you." Bianca whipped around to him. "If you so much as peep this to anyone, I'll peck the hell out of you."

Arin crossed his finger over his heart playfully. Bianca couldn't help but be annoyed. Still, she turned back around to silently indicate for him to continue washing her back. She spoke,

"I had a family once. I had parents and brothers and sisters just like anyone else. But…." She gazed up at the moon. "When you're a bird, life is survival of the fittest. The only ones who are cared about are the ones strong enough to live. I got tired of that. So I left."

Arin's smile was true. He moved to sit next to her and she folded her wings gratefully. His gaze wandered up at the moon. Silver's and Snow's song was starting to die out, but the life of it still charged the air around them.

"We're all not so different, ya know?" Arin said, "Silver without his memories. Snow with her dreams. Us with our families. We're nothing but a group of misfits trying to find our places in the world."

The words were unusually wise. But still, Bianca's ears trained only on one in particular. "We?"

"Yeah, we. You're apart of us too, Bianca." Arin leaned forward, looking at his reflection in the water. "In a sense, we're kinda like a family. I just hope it can stay this way for a very long time to come."

Bianca sighed and turned away from him. She could see Snow and Silver mindlessly cuddling up to one another, completely oblivious to the world around them. Arin's words rang in her thoughts, and her eyes closed slowly. "Family, huh…?"

* * *

"Okay…"

"It's getting a little over the top, huh?" Arin walked backwards as Bianca fluttered ahead of him and the whole group. The sun was high in the sky and the moment everyone was up, the group had taken to walking again. The valley had begun to incline once more, leading up into broader, flatter cliffs. But what was driving Arin and Bianca insane were the two wolves walking behind them. Silver and Snow were on a serious happy-high. Their maws turned up in ear to ear grins as they walked literally pressed at the hips and cheeks. A nuzzle here lead to a lick there, and the next thing the other two knew, they were stopping for a cuddle break.

"Thank goodness we're almost there. I'm almost tempted to go play with our friendly neighborhood otter tribe than sit and watch this all day." Bianca said. At this, Silver and Snow suddenly shot their attention to her. Not because of the wisecrack—they had been doing a good job of deflecting those—but because of the potential end to their search.

"Really? We're almost there?" Snow's tail wagged.

"That's what I said." Bianca floated beyond them. The land had elevated into a long, grassy hill. "It's just beyond here; there's a forest at the edge of this hill where the flower is."

Snow felt as though her heart was about to burst out of her chest. Not only did she now have Silver, but the key to saving her grandmother's life was just around the corner. The she-wolf broke into a sprint up the grassy hill. Her tail flailed in wild wags behind here, and she hadn't noticed how close Silver was until it accidently slapped him in the face. Arin fought to keep up, resorting to running on all fours. This was it; this was the moment they had been waiting for.

It was Bianca who gasped first. What they had found was hell. Down below the hill, the grass melted from a sweet green to a dead, dry, and pale yellow. The only thing that remained of the many trees were charred and jagged stumps, and the vast land was torn in deep scars—as though some monstrous thing raked its claws along the very earth. This land had no life. A light breeze blew dry air across the desolate and burned beyond. It carried flecks of broken grass across rubbled dens, broken huts, and out over a vast crater in the ground that may have been a lake at some point.

Snow's heart fell to her paws. "What is this…?" She breathed. She, Silver, and Arin stood at the edge of the hill crest, all sporting the same crestfallen expressions.

"I don't understand…" Bianca said, "I was always told this was a beautiful land. A land that bloomed all year long."

Silver took a step forward, and a sharp pain flickered in the back of his head. There was something here; something calling to him faintly. He couldn't explain the weak surge of energy, but it nagged at him. Maybe even scared him.

"U-uhm, come on—maybe it's not a total loss." Arin tried to sound cheerful, but his voice betrayed his words. Still, he went on. "Maybe we can still find at least one flower. It's worth a look, isn't it?" At first, no one said anything. It was Silver who broke the ranks, starting down the hill. They had come this far—too far—for it to just abruptly end. And even more so, something else seemed to be compelling him forwards. With Bianca, Snow, and Arin following, the four passed beyond the dividing line of life and death in the grass. Dead shrubs and dry twigs snapped under their paws. The stench of smoke lingered on everything like a mask of death. It was as though the land was crying. They had decided it was better to split up and search. Arin and Bianca took to explore the rubble that may have once been huts or small houses. The blue bird revolted when Arin picked up what looked like the charred remains of a bone. Snow had taken to the west side of the burned forest. And that left Silver to explore the vast crater in the ground. The young black wolf slowly made his way to the edge of the dried up lake. Cracks ran in wild veins across the ground, and there wasn't a single drop of water left. The nagging in Silver's head became louder. Something about this forest was ghastly. It brought on a sense that was bittersweet; both nostalgic and fearful. He took to sit on the dried out bank. It was a shame that nothing remained of the lake; not even a glimmer of life had survived whatever monstrous fire had gripped the land.

And then, a sharp pain suddenly racked Silver's brain. It rattled him both inside and out and he clasped his paws to his head. His body was burning, as if someone was literally torching him on the spot. He felt his claws dig into his skin. The pain had started on his shoulders before spreading like wildfire to every nerve ending he possessed. Silver screamed.

"Silver?" Snow was the first to come bounding over to him. Panic took her in full force as she put her paws on his shoulders. "Silver! Silver, what's wrong?"

"Give him some space, Snow!" Bianca exclaimed, but Snow hadn't budged. Arin held his paw out, scorning himself for being so helpless. Silver convulsed. The pain in his head and body had become much worse and it took all he had to not scream again. And then, they all came. Images—tons upon tons of flickering images spilled into his thoughts like a faucet running water into a cup already full to the brim. They flashed and reeled forwards and backwards; both new ones and old ones. Silver felt like his brain was going to explode. But there was one memory that stood out in particular. He remembered this forest; he remembered this lake; he remembered this spot. He remembered being engulfed within a sea of roaring flames, too weak from a fight to crawl his way out. And in the midst of that fire was a pup. A pup that looked just like him. But where Silver's fur was white, his was red. A deep, amber red, much like his glowering eyes. Smoke was flaring all over the puppy's body, and even from his nose, but the flames didn't touch him.

Silver wasn't sure when reality had settled in again. He found himself pressed against Snow's warm white fur, her arms wrapped tight around him. The burning was gone, but his body gave an occasional tremble every now and then. His energy was drained, and he wondered how he looked to the worried ones that were now looming over him. But something in Silver had changed. When he thought back, there were no longer blank pages. He could remember everything. He knew where he was. He knew who he was. And—with a heavy chagrin—he knew who that pup was. He whispered his name easily, as though he had known it all along.

"Garnet…"

* * *

**_Would Silver have been better off without his gaining his memory back? How will this come to effect him and his friends? You won't want to miss the next chapter of Silver Snow!_**


	6. Delete My Memories

**_Sorry for the ridiculously long wait everyone. Between school, work, and a few new comics I've been working on in the past few months, I haven't had much time to do so. And probably playing DFO through my entire break probably didn't help that either...Anyway, this last part is going to be broken into shorter chapters and the climax is only just starting, readers. So without further delay, enjoy your read ^^._**

**_Chapter 4: Delete My Memories_**

(Jasper Park, the morning before)

Anna's stomach ached. But it wasn't due to a bug or a virus of any sort. It had been days since the last time she had eaten; since the last time she had seen her beloved adopted son. Now, the days dragged on almost without end, as though father time was teasing her at her loss. The wolf slowly forced herself to her paws, ignoring yet another stab of hunger pain, and made her way out of her den. The sunlight stung her eyes and she winced. The den area had certainly become a pitiful place. It was as though the energy had been sucked out of the loping wolves, filling the air with a cloud of lethargy. Kate and Garth were hardly ever around, having to keep a paw up on every search party. And poor Lilly never even left her den. It was up to Humphrey and Winston to try and keep pack morale strong, but considering jut how much worse Eve had been getting, there was little hope. With a sigh, Anna started to make her way from her home. Every day from dawn until dusk, Anna went out on her own to search for Silver. It was the only thing that helped assuage the emptiness she felt.

"Anna, maybe you should eat and rest." Winston's voice caused Anna's left ear to flicker. She frowned at the pitiful look the old wolf was giving her because she knew exactly where he was going with this.

"I can't. I have to find him." Anna said.

"I know, and we will. But look at you…" Winston gave Anna a glance over. She was thinner from being under fed and her fur was tattered and fray as though she had crawled a marathon through a thicket of thorn bushes. But the worse part of it was the sunken look on her face, as though her whole world had come crashing down around her.

"I'll be fine—I'm doing what I can." Anna gave a curt response and turned off. If Winston had said anything, she hadn't heard it, already resolved to sprinting off through the forest. The strength of will was the only thing fueling her, because her body was begging for the rest Winston had mentioned. She bound across the trails of lush grass and blooming flowers, calling out Silver's name in loud barks. She poked her nose in every bush and around every corner she came across, despite getting scornful jars for invading other animals' privacies. Though she had checked several of the same places before, Anna clung to the hope that Silver would somehow turn up in one of them, ready to dutifully follow his mother back home. But as the older she-wolf passed through the valley's of the territory, she knew in the back of her mind that Silver was somewhere further beyond her reach and prayed that at the very least, he was safe.

"I certainly hope you haven't been screwing around out here, Ophelia. We already have to deal with one screw up as it is." Anna's ears suddenly shot up like a bullet. They weren't very far away; right amidst the cracks of a thicket of trees, Anna could make out two wolves. One of them she easily identified as Ophelia, the drifting she-wolf that Kate had brought in to nurse to recovery a while ago. She was certainly back to health, and why she was still hanging around their territory was a complete mystery. The other wolf across from her was much bigger than she was. He stood tall with an air of authority about him. His fur was a dead-grass yellow, except for the lively shade of turquoise in his sharp eyes. There was a flame insignia burned into his right shoulder just like Ophelia. Anna turned to walk off. This conversation had nothing to do with her, and on top of it, something about that taller wolf made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

"Don't compare me to Narcus, Koda!" Ophelia let out an offended snarl, "He might've blown his chances to capture Silver, but I'm not that stupid."

The sound of his name struck an emotional and attentive cord inside Anna. She froze for a moment before quickly scampering into one of the nearby bushes. She could feel an anxiety welling up inside of her, and she perked her ears up to catch as much of the conversation as possible.

The one named Koda stared at Ophelia with an undertone of annoyance. Still, he continued on with his questioning. "And what makes you so sure?"

"I've been on this territory for a while now—I hear things. On top of that, his scent is everywhere, especially in the den of an older she-wolf. It seems that our dear Silver has done it again."

"You mean he's found another family to drag through the mud with him." At this, Koda gave an intrigued grin, one that could only suggest the inner machinations of something diabolical. Again, Anna found herself cringing at the intimidating air about him. "I guess old weaknesses never die, for both him and our master."

"Err.." Ophelia suddenly seemed hesitant, as though choosing her words carefully. "There's still a slight problem. You see, it seems that Silver isn't around at the moment, and hasn't been for quite some time."

_SMACK_!

Ophelia suddenly found herself reeling onto the ground from a vicious back-slap across the muzzle, and before she could raise up in retaliation, Koda's paw was firmly pressed down onto her chest in an impossibly strong pin. The male snarled aggressively, showing his rows of ivory knives.

"And what were you planning on doing this entire time? We could have long-since brought him to our master if you had alerted me of this sooner. The Last Full Moon is quickly upon us, you fool."

"Watch yourself, Koda." Ophelia spat venom, "Make a habit of striking me and you'll lose that paw."

"Not likely," Koda let Ophelia up, though gave her a look that warned her against entertaining any thoughts of revenge.

"In any case, the reason why I even bothered to wait was because I have an idea where he went. There's an elderly wolf here who's sick. From what I hear, Silver and another one of the wolves most likely set out to try and find the cure—The Asimi Bloom."

At this, Koda's gaze turned up towards the sky. A bemused smile spread across his face. "I see…So he's gone back to _that_ place. It figures. Once a bleeding heart, always a bleeding heart. We'll send a bravo team to look in on him. After all, the master would appreciate a push in the right direction for Silver"

"And then we rip his throat out—"

"No!" Koda both snapped and barked at her. "Killing Silver is a privilege of our master only."

"Huh!" Anna gasped, covering her mouth quickly after. So that was Ophelia's intent form the very beginning—to send Silver to his death. She felt fear and rage chocking her and had to keep herself from leaping at the two who could more or less overpower her easily. No, now wasn't the time for fighting, but rather to try and find Silver to keep him safe. Anna slowly started to back up—and quickly regretted it once her foot snapped a twig in half loudly. She froze; Koda's and Ophelia's gaze shot right at her. Or rather, it was almost as though they could see right through her; past the underbrush blocking away her body straight into the pit of her very soul. It made her tremble almost instantaneously. Something about these two was beyond normal; something about them was almost supernatural in their looks alone. But after an awkward silence, the two wolves turned back to each other. Anna felt like someone had just released her throat from a tight grip.

"Alright then. I'll stay here and make sure everything is in order for his arrival." Ophelia finally said.

"Good. In the meanwhile, I'm going to report to our master. For all our sakes, he could use some good news." Koda stated. Ophelia turned to walk off and the male started the other way. Anna let out a sigh of relief and turned in the opposing direction. So they hadn't seen her, and had no clue that she had overheard them talking. But how was she to find Silver before them without a clue on where to even begin?

"By the way, Koda." Ophelia's voice made Anna's fur chill, "What should we do about the mouse in hiding?"

"Hmm…what indeed." Koda's head turned sharply back in Anna's direction. The she wolf gasped, her position compromised, and she suddenly felt exposed. Every nerve in her body screamed for her to run, but she found herself suddenly unable to move. Eyes—sharp, glinting, and almost as wicked as Koda's were suddenly leering at her from every shrub and every bush. A low warning growl escaped her throat, but was mocked by a chorus of much deeper, darker ones from all around. The leaves rustled and one by one, the wolves stepped out of their hiding places, as though they had been there the entire time. Most of them had burned red fur, while others varied form brown to white. But one thing they all shared in common were the same flame symbols burned into their right shoulders. They slowly closed in around Anna, who found that the only movement she could make was the rabid pounding of her heart.

"Oh my..." Ophelia sneered. "Mommy came all the way out here to find her precious baby pup."

_THWACK!_

Anna felt something hard strike the back of her head and the world was suddenly spinning in dizzying circles. She teetered down onto the ground with a thud. Every muscle in her body was quickly going limp, and her eyes were beginning to feel like lead weights. The last thing she could make out was Koda standing over her, his sinister eyes glaring something fierce into hers.

* * *

"Silver? Please say something! Say anything!" Snow's voice was like a luminous beacon tearing through the fog of Silver's thoughts. He hadn't been aware of how hard his claws had been digging into his skin, or that he was even still holding his head for that matter, until Snow called out to him again. His silver eyes adjusted upon opening—not to the light, but to the realization. Every one of his memories had come painfully resurfacing to the edge of his thoughts, as though being violently shaken awake from a dream. It was a bitter-sweet satisfaction, however.

"Snow…It's okay—I'm fine." Silver whispered. His mouth was a little dry, probably from the screams his painful recollection brought on. The young wolf slowly sat up and looked around. Snow was nearly looming over him like a shadow, and the moment she realized he was okay, she jumped on him.

"Don't scare me like that!" Snow exclaimed, nuzzling her face into his chest. Silver's arms locked tight around her as he apologized, not at all in a rush to move her away. Arin let out a sigh of relief, and though she was trying to hide it now, Bianca let the tension in her face finally relax.

"I can remember everything." Silver said softly into Snow's ear, gaining an affectionate coo from her before his muzzle moved away. "I know who I am—what I am; All the places I've been; How many lives I've lived. I can remember it all."

"How many what?" Arin blinked, thinking he hadn't heard right, but the midnight wolf was already back on his paws. He caught the all-too familiar scents of the area, even through the overlay of soot and ash. His mind quickly fit the pieces of his memory together with ease.

"This forest…It used to be my home back when I was a pup…"

"Really?" Snow, Arin, and Bianca gasped. Silver nodded and started off up the now familiar trail. His mind washed away the charred remains around him, giving way to a lush, green forest with the sun shining cheerfully through cracks in the leaf canopy above. Silver felt like a ghost, wandering trails of long-since dead land almost on impulse or instinct. Every now and then, a familiar face would tickle his memory when he looked into one of the dens, or up towards the trees, or near the crooked patches of clearing in the forest. Silver finally came to take a seat before what used to be a mud hut pressed against the back of a cliff. The roof was completely ripped off and the leveled structure had become so incredibly brittle that flecks of it strewn in the wind. Silver closed his eyes, hearing voices in his thoughts of a group of pups as they ran up to him, ready to play. He would always give them the slightest of smiles before racing off from the two old wolves that served as his parents.

"What is this?" Arin took a step inside the fallen inner sanctum as Snow took a seat close to Silver's side.

"This place is in worse shape than all the others." Bianca took notice. She tried to make out broken shards of something burned into the floor, but quickly dismissed it. Everything was scorched too black to even be remotely identifiable.

"This place used to be my house…." Silver voiced silently. Snow's ears perked up. A sense of sad pride welled up inside of her as she took a step forward—placed her paw onto the ashen ground before her—realizing that they were now wandering the remnant of her beloved's memories. But at that thought, something else Silver had said started to nag at her, or rather, it had been nagging at her the entire time no matter how many times she chose to dismiss it. He had said 'lives'. How many lives he had lived. Snow couldn't help but feel something not quite right about it—something she wasn't catching on to. It must've been bugging Arin as well, for the otter was scratching his head in intense curiosity towards Silver. It was only a few moments sooner that he decided to round on his canine friend.

"Shiney Eyes, what did you mean earlier?" Arin asked, overturning something ovular in the soot using his toe.

"About?"

"About the whole 'many lives' comment. You're not about to tell me you're some immortal, blood-sucking vampire wolf are you? Because that would unexplainably explain a lot." Arin looked up, half-joking, but almost stared when Silver didn't seem particularly surprised. He groaned and slapped his paw to his face. "Lord in Heaven, don't say yes."

"I'm no vampire, but I have lived more lives than I care to remember." The calm in Silver's tone—the arrow-pointed seriousness that glided along an ocean of simple words—was enough to send all three of them in a quizzical stare his way.

"Uhm…" Bianca came to perch on a shard of broken wall. She pointed her wing to her head. "Are you sure you're okay, Silver? I mean, you were doing a lot of screaming back there—maybe you broke something."

Silver looked out to the three. But of course they wouldn't know the truth about him; about who or even what he was. Or rather, wouldn't suspect that the knowledge had been right under their noses the entire time. Afterall, there had only been one person who had truly known who he was without need for explanation. Silver thought of how easy the old wolf he used to stay with had accepted him, and knew that the elder's level of understanding could not be rivaled. Silver took a deep breath, then walked across them, so that his back was facing them. His eyes scanned the charred remnants of his homeland before slowly closing.

"Snow, you remember when we were pups, how we used to listen to the old wolves tell us stories? Remember one in particular about the spirit of the moon—the one in which the greedy wolf spirit sought to control the world?" Snow only nodded slightly, not sure where exactly her lover was going with his explanation. Still, Silver continued as though there were no uncertainties whatsoever. "Because of his greed, the wolf spirit of the moon was split into two separate beings, his power halved and seemingly forever doomed to be. But within this fate, the two halves sought to become whole again, and in doing so, killed each other over and over again. Endless life. Countless death. Each cycle ending and beginning the exact same way."

At this, Silver slowly turned his head back, just enough for the silver of his strong, honest eyes to settle onto Snow's. "One of those halves is me. That greedy wolf and I are one, and the same."

"Yeah, he definitely broke something." Silver wasn't sure when Arin had the time to clamber onto his back, and now he sat loosely, pulling up his eyelids in some sort of mock examination. "Maybe something fell on his head before he was doing all that screaming and knocked something loose. Quick—" He slid down Silver's back and lifted his tail, "Someone get me a really cold thermometer."

Silver grimaced and flicked Arin off of his back with his tail, protecting his rump from even the idea of medical assault.

"Even I knew about that story, but that's all it is—just a story for little chicks and pups." Bianca stated.

Silver turned fully to Snow, who only glanced to the side to spare the feelings of the one she loved. He didn't deny that it sounded crazy. And he also hadn't really expected them to believe him in the first place. Besides, there were more important things to worry about aside from the truth of his identity. Silver shook his head slightly and gave them a reassuring smile.

"Sorry, just a little joke, guys. I'm alright, let's focus on finding the flower for Eve—we don't have much time left.

"Best idea you've had yet." Bianca chirped and fluttered off to go search overhead. Arin patted Silver's shoulder and scampered off after the bird. But Snow couldn't dismiss it just as easily as they could. That look he gave her didn't waver in every word he spoke. She knew it well, for it was the same expression he always gave her when he was reassuring her, or when he told her he loved her. And on top of that, Silver never lied.

"Are you sure you're okay, Silver?" Snow lovingly stroked her muzzle against the side of Silver's.

"Yes, I'm okay." Silver nodded and licked her cheek. If Snow had her way, nothing would have pleased her more to share another makeout session in the midst of wheedling more information from her mate. But Eve's time was ticking and, torn between duty and pleasure, Snow moved off in the other direction. The four spread out across the burned land once more, overturning every stone or charred stump they could find. But the land reeked of death and destruction, too much for any kind of life to be sustained at all.

Silver could feel every nerve in his body being constantly ransacked by a sick nostalgia. Not only by being back in his home, but because of the vivid memories of what had happened. He could easily recall who did it and why, and the knowledge of it all started to feel heavy on him. Afterall…it was his fault things ended up this way. It was his fault things always ended up this way whenever **he** was involved. And then his thoughts turned to Snow. He loved her deeply, more than he had ever loved anyone before. And because of that, he felt a sense of worry entangle the weight already on him. Just being near him could bring consequences Snow couldn't imagine, and he tried not to question himself about his ability to safeguard her from them.

"Snow….will you still want to be near me if you ever found out the truth?" Silver voiced aloud. His question wasn't answered by a voice, but rather by a rustling that made his ears flicker. Silver's head snapped up, eyes scanning every direction. It could have just as easily been Snow, Arin, or Bianca, so why did he have this feeling of suddenly being on edge? It had passed as quickly as it came and Silver decided to brush it off; now wasn't the time to entertain suspicions.

It hadn't been too long before the group reunited back together just a little ways off from the dried up lake. Silver could tell by the looks on the others' faces what the answers would be, but he still felt compelled to ask.

"Find anything?" Snow asked before he could.

"Luck insists on making me it's—"

_Whump!_ Bianca shoved her wing into Arin's mouth, not at all pleased with the unwelcomed bite that came with it. "I've circled this area at least five times," She said with a grit, " But I couldn't see anything. I hate to say it, but it looks like whatever fire happened destroyed everything in sight.

Silver felt his eyes divert to his paws, a surge of both pity and anger shocking his nerves. His memories once again resurfaced the name and he let it roll of his tongue in an inaudible growl. "Garnet…"

"Look again!" A loud thump of Snow's paw hitting the ground snapped Silver out of his reverie. "We have to look again—turn over everything. It has to be around here somewhere, it just has to be." She exclaimed. Her slightly wild eyes made the others jump, but when she started heading forward, the three did not follow after her. She turned back and frowned sharply. "Well come on, grandma's running out of time."

"Snow…" Bianca started.

"Snowflake, we've searched every inch of this place. Maybe it's just not here—"

"No, I'm not giving up!" Snow snapped at Arin, who took a sudden step back. "Bianca, let's go." She turned to the bluebird. Bianca sighed and rubbed the back of her head, searching for the right words to handle the situation. But then, what could she say?"

"Snow, we tried."

"Fine, you give up too!" Okay, maybe that was wrong. Snow's voice edged, even to the point of letting out a snarl. The snowy she-wolf rounded on Silver. Silver had never seen Snow's eyes so wild with panic before. Snow was usually so optimistic and upbeat; she was normally the one that helped pull everyone on top of the world with her. But now, she was as scared and falling like a bird who's wings were clipped. Silver didn't want to give up either. But in the back of his mind, even he felt that the Asimi bloom would never grow in a barren wasteland such as this. Snow could read his expression, and just for a moment, her ears drooped before arching with anger.

"You too? Fine! I'll find it myself!" Snow stormed away, turning over everything she could, even if that something was as unorthodox as a pebble. "It's here somewhere!" She overturned a boulder, kicking up ashen debris. "I won't give up—we've come too far for this!" She slammed her paws into the ground, only proceeding to dig frantically. The other three looked on in helpless frustration as Snow tossed dirt, soot, and ash wildly into the air. Her fur was beginning to blacken from the mess, and the particles agitated her nose and eyes. But she didn't care. She was determined to find what they had been looking for no matter what. "It's gotta be here! It just has to!" Tears started to sting Snow's eyes. Silver couldn't take watching her be so helpless any longer. He slowly walked over to her, his silver eyes reflecting nothing but love and understanding for his beloved. He gently laid his maw down on Snow's shoulder.

"Snow—"

"NO!" Snow suddenly jerked back and let her paw automatically fly. But by the time she came to regret it, her claw grazed Silver's cheek just enough to make a small scratch appear. She froze, but Silver didn't seem bothered with it.

"I'm…" Snow dropped her gaze to her paws. She wanted to apologize, but her voice was caught in her throat. Instead, she walked past Silver, Arin, and Bianca towards the lake. Arin made an attempt to follow, but Bianca put her wing in front of him and shook her head. Instead, She nudged him in the opposing direction, until the two of them were walking out of Silver's line of sight. Silver walked over to join Snow at the edge of the dried up lake. The wind blew a nice sheen of ash across the air, some of which flecked the black of Silver's fur. For a while, neither he nor Snow said anything. While he was gazing up towards the sky, she was staring down, right into the very pit of the lake.

"When I was a pup, I used to get into a lot of fights with my pack." Silver's voice sounded soft, and with an uncanny wisdom. Sure, Snow always thought he seemed older than he really was, but this was different, as if he had years to contemplate life. "After my fights, I'd run off to this very spot. At night, the moon would reflect clear in the middle of this lake. It was the only time I ever felt like I could be at peace with myself."

"…" Snow looked to him, trying not to focus on the scratch she gave him.

"There was an old couple that took care of me. Gramps, he used to scold me all the time. 'There will come a time where you'll have to man-up, Silver. Truth isn't always found on the path before you'. It pissed me off. I used to threaten to drown him in this lake." A sad smile spread on his face, despite his moment of dark humor. "The truth isn't always in front of you, Snow."

"They were right, Silver…" Snow's voice cracked. "They told me I couldn't do it. They warned me not to, but I just didn't listen. Mom and dad are probably losing their minds…grandma is running out of time. All I did was add pressure to an already horrible situation."

"Don't say that, Snow."

"It's true," Snow turned away, "I'm always going on about being out in the world; always going on about how everyone is treating me like a pup. But all this time, I'm only alive because of you. You, and Arin, and Bianca. I didn't do anything! I couldn't even save my grandmother. I'm just a pup." She looked down and closed her trembling eyes tight. "Just a dreamer and nothing more."

"That's not the fun-loving, thrill seeking Snow I know talking." Silver rose to his feet. "When we started his journey, you knew full well that it wasn't going to be easy, but you went. That's the wonderful thing about you, Snow. You take risks. You make chances. You dream and you're not afraid to try things that other's won't. In all the places I've been; in all the lives I've lived, I've never met anyone like you." Silver reached out and placed his paw on Snow's cheek. The snowy wolf's cheeks flushed a deep shade of red. Silver's wise, sure gaze was eroding the panic that was holding her, and his touch was playing on her urges again.

"The Asimi bloom is somewhere. As long as it exists, we'll pursue it, and as long as we do that, there will always be hope. Isn't that what you taught me?" Silver's words sent a surge of confidence coursing through Snow's body. He always seemed to know exactly what to say to her. As a small smile crept across her mouth, she nodded, resisting the sudden urge to rain kisses on her mate.

"Good, now let's go—" Silver's ears suddenly shot up like a bullet. A pressure had rapidly begun building in the air around him; a feeling of danger that seemed to put his senses right on the edge. Something was coming—no, that something was already there and had been hiding the entire time. The sick feeling of foreboding closed all around Silver, and he found himself shielding a puzzled Snow with his body.

"Silver, what's wrong?" Snow asked.

"Stay behind me." Silver hissed. His eyes darted around the seemingly empty foreground. It wouldn't have been half as bad if he hadn't felt this feeling before; if he hadn't known who this sickening tension belonged to.

"Aww man, and here I was hoping to surprise you. I guess your senses aren't as dull as Koda said they would be." The voice could've been playful, if it wasn't laced with something dark and aggressive. To any normal wolf, it would have seemed like the group of sunburned red and yellow wolves materialized out of nowhere. But Silver could easily make the group of canines advancing on them from the distant shadows of the trees beyond. Their lips were curled back, revealing their sharp fangs, but what really made Silver let out a malicious snarl was that each one of their shoulders were branded with a flame insignia burned through their fur to their skin.

"But then, that pretentious prick seems to get a kick out of screwing with others' heads."

The wily wolf caused one of the old withered branches of a tree to crack, but it surprisingly didn't snap under his weight. His fur was a wild combination of grays, blacks, and white, especially around his almost lion-like mane. One of his eyes was a pale blue while the other was a vibrant green, and a long scar branded the bridge of his muzzle. Like the others, his shoulder was burned with the same flame insignia.

"Man, you really do look like the master though. If it wasn't for a slight color difference—" The wolf pointed a claw playfully to his muzzle, "—You'd never be able to tell you two apart."

"Silver?" Snow had practically been huddled underneath Silver as he protected her with his body. He knew that his moment of peace wouldn't have lasted. It never lasted, not while Garnet had anything to do with it. His fur stood on end and deep, dark growls whipped from his throat. Certainly, the surrounding wolves were scary, but he was suddenly starting to become more so than them.

"No matter thought, onto business." The wolf dropped down and pointed a claw to Silver. "Silver, Master Garnet would like to have a word with you. And we won't be taking 'no' for an answer, even if we have to…" He grinned darkly, "drag you back one piece at a time."

* * *

**_Was regaining his memories a good thing, or did it just open up a whole new world of hell for Silver and his pals? Find out in the next chapter of Silver Snow!_**


	7. The God In The Rough

**_Hello, everyone! Sorry about being so late. I wasn't satisfied with how the end half was going, so I had to work through the writer's block to figure it out. But now the wait is over and progression on the story should resume as normal. On another note, I would like to let my readers know that someone has plagiarized this story. Yeah-copied the story word-for-word without even changing the title and posted it on another website, passing it off as their own. If you google search "Silver Snow Alpha and Omega" you will find that someone named Full Metal Alchemist posted a direct copy of my story on an alpha and omega fansite MONTHS after my story. The website administrators for that fansite are not helping to remove this story, so I ask my readers for their support. This story is for only. With that said, enjoy chapter 5 everyone!_**

_**Chapter 5: The God In The Rough**_

Snow's ears perked up. She had heard that name before, muttered through the spasms of Silver's pain when his memory returned. Just who was he, and why did she feel a slight chagrin every time he was mentioned?

"You'll have to forgive me if I decline." Silver moved his body back over Snow. The look in his eyes were different from the warm, comforting relief that Snow had seen earlier. Now they were sharp, focused, and screamed that he was more than capable of ripping even the mightiest beast in half. But the Wiley Wolf across from him wasn't even entertaining the thought of fear. On the contrary, a bemused grin spread across his face, like he wanted Silver to refuse.

"Well that's too bad, because the boss had given me specific instructions to make sure you get the invitation—even if we have to beat it into you." At this, the other wolves let out dangerous, greedy snarls, ready to leap at even the slightest inclination of attack.

"Silver…."Snow breathed, "Who is this guy? Why does he look like he's ready to try and tear us apart?"

"Just a puppet." Silver hissed.

"Keeping secrets from your little girlfriend, Silver? Man, you must really not trust her all that much. Or—" A sly grin appeared on the Wiley Wolf's face, "You actually don't want her to know what kind of monster you really are."

"Monster?" Snow blinked, ignoring Silver's warning growl. The word had unwillingly triggered something in her mind, and she felt guilty for even associating Silver with it in the slightest. But the image of her mate as a pup surfaced; the image of him standing triumphantly atop the dead bear; the image of his midnight fur sleek and glossy in the moonlight, with crimson blood dripping from his claws and fangs. That had been the only real time she had ever feared that Silver would actually take her life.

"My, isn't this special?" The wolf started to pace, though his eyes never left Silver's. He pointed his claw to his head. "Yes, that's right. Behind that peace-loving omega façade lies the mind and instinct of a blood-thirsty killer. A god among wolves, but a slave to instinct—the real 'puppet' between us."

"That's enough." Silver put his paws protectively over Snow's ears, "She doesn't need to hear this." But Snow involuntarily felt herself move from his grip. She wanted to know, whether she was prepared to accept it or not. The wolf continued.

"There was once a great wolf spirit of the moon named Yue. Yue was greedy, so much so that he began a blood-thirsty reign of imperialism. His punishment would not be in death—no, he was too powerful for that—and so instead, he was suppressed, his power riven in two separate entities. For centuries, the entities would fight, one hoping to triumph over the other in the hopes to become whole again. But every fight resulted in a stalemate, and each stalemate warranted a new cycle of life. Miss wolf—" The wolf pointed his claw dead at Silver, who glared, "Your precious lover is nothing but a recycled half of a being beyond your comprehension."

Snow didn't know what to say at first. This was the second time that story had been brought up. She felt like she was being punked, and soon, Arin and Bianca would come jumping out of the bushes to make fun of her. But the pranks never came. There was no laughter. There was no group jar to make fun of how easily she fell for such a little pup's story. The glare in Silver's eyes were way too serious for that.

"Y-You can't expect me to believe that…" The uncertainty in Snow's voice was more noticeable than she realized. Snow looked to Silver, hoping for him to agree. He never even looked at her, his gaze transfixed like a sniper's sights.

"Of course not." The wolf tapped his cheek.

"So it's not true."

"I never said that. He just needs some…convincing."

If there had been a queue to attack, Silver had clearly missed it; the wolves that had been edging the tips of their claws were suddenly airborne with their killer wolf weapons poised towards the two below. Silver's first instinct was to fight—to rip asunder anyone with the gall to put Snow in danger. But through the soupy lake of instinct, he knew that fighting was the very last thing that someone like him should do. Instead, Silver rolled Snow onto his back and darted off like a bat out of hell, leaving a bunch of thudding noises behind from the landing wolf attackers.

"Running away? Pfth! As if!" The Wiley Wolf barked and the troop under his command lashed forward. Silver didn't answer any of Snow's questions, only half aware she was even asking any to begin with. He had to focus on two things, one of which was obviously tearing through the burned-out forest like a pounding streak of black and white. His second worry wasn't so cut and dry. With his memories pieced back together, he quickly realized that he had been breaking a promise he had made to himself; a promise that the old wolf who had given him shelter when he had none asked him to consider seriously. Silver had been Lapsing; experiencing temporary regressions to his own aggressive nature that came on whenever Snow's life was in danger.

"Silver, I said watch out!"

Before he knew how disconnected his thoughts were from his body, Silver felt his legs collide with something hard enough to break his balance. Snow was thrown off his back and the two of them rolled against the terra firma. Silver coughed, his nose heavily irritated by the ashen debris along the ground. He immediately snapped his head up, scanning the area for Snow. What he found was his snowy-white mate piled on top of a struggling otter and a seriously disgruntled blue bird.

"Off! OFF! Lose some weight or get off!" Bianca flapped her wings in sporadic beating motions, in vain of course.

"Thanks for calling me fat…" Arin feigned an offended look and wiggled his way from under Snow. The female wolf raised to her paws and shook the ash off her fur.

"Tried to warn you…"

"Well aside from that head-banging reunion," Arin rubbed down the frayed spots on his fur, "Is everything alright now?"

"Not exactly," Silver was suddenly using his body to shield over Snow again, a deep, low growl escaping his throat. It hadn't taken long for the perusing wolves to catch up. They poured out of every corner of the trees, converging like shadows in the dusk of the sinking sun. The only instance in which their ranks parted was when the Wiley Wolf stepped through the middle. His grin was playful—or maybe psychotically giddy, they couldn't really tell.

"See what a pain running is? I guess it's time for some incentive." The wolf's gaze turned to Snow and she jumped. Silver's eyes narrowed. Don't do anything that would cost you a limb, they spoke.

"Are you gonna make me do that?" The wolf asked. Arin ran forward and puffed his chest up to look intimidating. It might have actually worked, had his legs not been trembling the entire time. Still, he jabbed a finger forward towards the onslaught of wolves with a bravado that would have sent anything greater running.

"You have no clue who you're dealing with! I'll—"

"I'm gonna bite your face."

"—_Silver'll_ Kung Fu the hell outta you in less than ten seconds flat!" Arin tagged Silver's paw and darted from the vicinity of the provoking wolf.

"Idiot," Bianca slapped her wing to her face.

"Enough," The Wiley Wolf's voice had laced with a sudden seriousness that caused Silver to become dangerously attentive to the wolves around him. Glimmers of blood-red light began to glower from the insignia of the arms of the wolven army, and the air began to tense with a forbidding heat. Snow had barely seen it coming before Silver's body lunged towards the trio of burnt-grass-colored wolves that had made their way towards her. His claws clung to the middle wolf's shoulders and sent him crashing down into the ground; but just as quickly as Silver had defended, the other two wolves and seized his shoulder and leg in their fangs.

"Silver!"

_KABOOOM!_

The ground rattled slightly and Snow's voice was drowned out by a loud exploding sound; a burst of flames had erupted from the mouths of the wolves and Silver suddenly found himself spiraling across the ground and crashing harshly against the tree. Ash shook like burnt falling snow from the brittle branches onto the groaning midnight wolf's fur. Snow's voice caught in her throat, trying to fully comprehend what she had just seen. Arin and Bianca stood with their mouths agape, as though someone had just snatched whatever confidence in their knowledge of the world that they had and partied all over it. But the proof of what just happened was plain in the flickering flames that escaped like breaths from both their mouths and the insignias of the two wolves.

"Wha…" Arin's bravado was all but crushed and his legs gave way to his knees. "What the hell was that…?"

"Still nothing?" His voice was one of mock disappointment, but the Wiley Wolf's amusement was as clear as the grin on his face. He glanced back from Silver to two of his henchwolves. "The girl." They didn't question him, and Snow found herself slowly backing away from the two on-coming wolves. Her warning growls fell on deaf ears. Even if she was sure she could've taken at least one of them, the flames crackling from their maws sent chills running up her spine. Snow's rump pressed against the back of a tree and she swore under her breath. A paw clasped onto her shoulder and before she knew it, she was being wrestled down onto her back, two pairs of fanged mouths aimed at her throat. Snow cringed; it felt as though a furnace was cycling heat from within their bodies through their mouths and her fur seemed threatened to catch fire on the spot.

"Snow—" Arin suddenly slid backwards. Both he and Bianca pressed back to back, a few of the wolves circling them like grounded vultures. The steel in their eyes dared them to even so much as entertain the idea of escape.

"This isn't seriously happening, is it?" A bead of sweat rolled down the side of Arin's cheek.

"Well, it could be worse, right?" Bianca said.

"Oh yeah?"

"We could be back at your psycho village with your psycho princess." She shot.

"Are you kidding? I'd rather…" Arin's left ear perked up as his mind flipped through the pages of memory, all the while gazing at the flames dancing from the wolves. "On second thought, burn me—burn me to a crisp."

"S-Snow… Silver's paws wobbled as his body tried to rise. Pain in his shoulder and leg wracked against him as though someone was breathing searing flames right into the muscles. But it was nothing compared to the roar of instincts that were raging inside of him. Snow's neck was wedged between the jaws of his attackers, and one fell move could spell instant death for her. And that was something he was under any circumstance not willing to accept.

"Hmm…." The Wiley Wolf's bemused look turned into boredom. Silver didn't look like the great wolf from the stories; the wolf who made his enemies cower; a god among wolves. No, now he looked frail and wilted beneath his own unnatural kindness. He scoffed. "Man, this is so lame." The wolf turned and walked away with his tail flicking the wind. "Kill the girl and let's get on. No sense in bringing back a dud to Lord Garnet."

Snow cringed. She tried to squirm her way from underneath the wolves, but their grip on her was so strong that she barely even budge. She could feel a powerful heat coming from their furnace-like mouths, and the wolf closest to her neck pressed his fangs against her skin. It would only take one snap; one instant to crush every bone and sever every nerve and tendon in her throat, and she knew it. Snow closed her eyes and gently let his name roll off her tongue.

"Silver…"

"The loud snap of bone and skin gave a sickening echo against the ashen trees. And then, there was nothing but silence. The pupil's in Arin's eyes shrunk, for all he could do was stand stone-still. Bianca wasn't aware of just how far her jaw had dropped, nor just how silent even the own beating of her heart had gone. Snow lay motionless on the ash-covered ground, eyes closed.

But there was no pain. As a matter of fact, the weight that was once pinning her down was suddenly gone. Her paw reached up and felt her neck. There was no blood and no fang marks, though a residue of heat still lingered. She poked an eye open. Arin and Bianca looked frozen in fear, but their gaze wasn't aimed towards her. Their line of vision lay a few feet away from Snow, to the trio of wolves that were slumped motionless against a nearby tree. A trail of thick, red blood pooled beneath the mass of fur and soaked through the dead grass in sickening trails. Snow gasped, her paw to her mouth.

"Guess that actually worked." The Wiley Wolf looked back towards Silver. The midnight wolf was almost unrecognizable. He stood powerful with his back arched. His silver eyes were cold and calculating like the chill of death itself. But what was really amazing was the pair of long, sleek, black feathered wings protruding in a folded arch over his back. Snow was both awestruck and rooted in fear.

"Now that's what I wanted to see—" It almost happened too fast for any of them to see; Silver's whole body moved like a sleek, black shadow, his forehead colliding into the Wiley Wolf's muzzle. Blood flecked the air as he tumbled dramatically across the ground, crashing into an old, rotted tree. The wolves in standby threw themselves at Silver without hesitation. Flames flailed from their mouths and paws, but Silver's glare was unwavering. His paws moved like a black wind as he weaved and ducked from flyby claws or fangs; a wolf rushed towards him in a head-on tackle, only to find the midnight wolf using his powerful fangs to crush his shoulder. Whimpers of pain filled the air as Silver lashed his natural animal weapons, throwing wolves left and right and leaving them with broken limbs or sleek with blood. A waning group of wolves dropped down onto Silver, had pinned him to the ground. A roar of flames erupted from their mouths as they bit down onto his body all at once. But a loud snarl ripped from Silver's throat and a powerful spiral of air not only hurtled the wolves skywards, but left them motionless once they crashed to the ground in a slew of harsh cuts all over their bodies. The area was littered with broken, whimpering wolves and Silver stood amidst the carnage, glaring straight at the Wiley Wolf. The wolf spat blood and met Silver's gaze.

"….." The wolf raised upright. His paw slowly, so very slowly, trailed up the side of his face, across his muzzle, and fell tender on his now broken nose. Blood flecked the pads of his paws. "You…" He started to tremble. "You little…how DARE you touch my perfect face…" The flame insignia on his arm must have been burning like crazy, for a billowing cloud of steam was wafting off the mark onto the air. Minute puffs of flame erupted from his bull-flaring nostrils. But Silver only stood in the same position, cold and silent. Snow, Arin, and Bianca stood huddled on the sidelines as though every supernatural movement of the scene before them was a deafening slap to the face. And though Snow couldn't deny it, she couldn't bring herself to fully believe it. This Silver before her; a Silver who could easily snap bones and tear flesh asunder; could he possibly still be the same Silver? _Her_ Silver?

"You ruined my perfect face!"

Snow's reverie was quickly broken by a roar of intense wind and flames. The young she-wolf's eyes could barely follow the constant clashing of Silver and the Wily Wolf. Their fighting was more like a loosely coordinated dance, roaring winds capable of slicing the trees billowing off of Silver, and searing flames capable of incinerating entire forests radiating from the wolf. Silver's movements were quick, but the Wiley wolf seemed just as skilled when it came to dodging Silver's claws and fangs. The two roared off the ground and into the frail branches above. Trees wailed as they were toppled over like staggered dominoes; ash whirled through the air in thick clouds, making Snow, Arin, and Bianca gag. Silver's thoughts had never felt so cut off from himself in a long, long time. "Save Snow, Kill wolf" repeated over and over like a metronome in his head. His paws bounced light across the tree branches, easily pulling him into the wolf's reach, and just as easily frustrating him when he fell out of range again. The two wolves crashed down onto the ground so hard that a gust of air overturned the grass and threw Snow back on top of Arin.

"To think you would mar my perfect face." The Wiley Wolf spat. "Tch! I can't wait to make mince-meat out of your woman. Or maybe," A sly grin spread across his maw. "I'll just keep her as my own little personal pet. Whadda' ya say to that, huh?"

Siler's left eye twitched; the only physical sign of the enraged annoyance the wolf had provoked out of him. And then, he was suddenly gone. A few black feathers floated from where he had once stood, and Snow quickly regretted blinking. The Wiley Wolf let out a gasp when Silver's paw moved like a phantom down on top of his head. All it took was one push and the wolf slammed face-first into the ground so hard that the land shook around them. Rage was like thunderclap in Silver's ears. His other paw slowly raised over his head, his talon-sharp claws poised towards the wolf's neck. The Wiley Wolf frowned, but said nothing. He was too busy staring at Silver's claws; waiting for the instant death would come to meet him.

"Silver…" Snow's voice squeaked out, but her beloved didn't hear her. And by the look in his eyes, it seemed that he was too far gone. Silver let his paw drop down towards the wolf's neck. "SILVER, STOP!"

"Huh?" Silver's ears shot up, and it felt as though someone had delivered a punch of reality to his face. His cold, murderous gaze flickered like a fading star and the wings dispersed into vanishing flecks on the ground. His paw pressed against the top of his muzzle as if to physically take hold of himself. The fangs of his instinct were chocked back by the leash of reason again and he could feel himself resurfacing. And then, he was suddenly calm. Silver slowly looked down. The Wiley Wolf's fangs were clenched tight, eyes glaring daggers up towards him. Trickles of blood splattered onto the dirt below; Silver's claws were only inches into the wolf's flesh, but it was enough to slick his neck down in rivets of crimson. A sickening feeling gripped Silver's stomach as he slowly lifted his paw away, gazing at the red-stained tips.

"Fool!"

Snow gasped; a flare of flames spewed in a rabid spiral, not actually capable of singing Silver's fur, but enough to throw him halfway across the ground. The Wiley Wolf leapt up from the dirt onto one of the higher tree branches. He gazed back to the awe-struck Arin and Bianca, the angered Snow, and Silver, who was too preoccupied with his paws to even realize that he had been repelled from his assailant. The wolf heaved, that ridiculously bemused look reappearing.

"First my face and now my neck…I can't wait to rip that pretty little face of yours to pieces, man..." His eyes lingered down on Silver. Though he tried to hide behind his entertained façade, the chagrin was painfully clear. Still, he seemed to think better of rushing into a round two and darted off into the shadows of the trees.

Snow waited until the wolf was completely out of sight before finally letting her breath go. She didn't realize how much she had been on the precipice of tension until she noticed the grooves her claws made in the ground. And who could blame her? What she had just witnessed was like something out of a fairy tale gone horribly awry. The land was racked with scorches and tears from the wind and fire. The bodies of each fell wolf was now nothing but a pile of ashes. It was a level of supernatural that Snow wouldn't have believed if she hadn't witnessed it. The snowy white wolf gave the broken land another once over before she slowly found her way over to her mate. Silver was staring heavily at his paws. His ears were practically pressed into his headfur and had he been standing up, his tail would've been tucked between his legs. His head whirled with the memories of battle, and he cursed himself inside. He promised he wouldn't let himself slip; that he wouldn't give into the him that could easily kill, and rip, and tear, and shred. And yet, had Snow not reached out to him, who knows how far he could have taken it? But it was too late now. His friends and beloved had already gotten a taste of the monster inside him.

"Shut up..." It was as if Snow could hear his thoughts. But even as she put a comforting paw on his shoulder, he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye. So Snow leaned over so that she could do so instead. It was still hard to believe everything that transpired; hard to believe that her mate was literally something out of a fairy tale. "Don't beat yourself up by thinking something stupid." She said. Silver slowly raised his head, probably so he didn't have to keep eye contact.

"You did what you had to do—"

"That could have been you." Silver interjected. His expression had gone hard. But Snow just shook her head.

"You wouldn't hurt me. You promised, remember?" The snowy white wolf lifted his chin up with her muzzle. But Silver wasn't hearing it. He had already broken one promise, he didn't need to break another, especially to the woman he loved the most. Determined not to let defeat completely mar his voice, Silver cleared his throat.

"We had better get out of here. This place wreaks of bad memories." Silver rose to his feet. It pained him to even think so, but as it stood, Snow wasn't safe around him; not while he had no control over who came after him and how; not while he had no control over himself. Snow looked as if she was about to say something to him, but he dismissed it with a quick shake of his head. Snow huffed, though kept right on his toes when he walked off.

"Arin, Bianca, let's spread out again. Maybe if we look really hard, we could find something." She stated. However, the sound she heard following wasn't what she had expected. As a matter of fact, she had heard nothing at all. The snowy white wolf craned her head back only to see that her two friends hadn't budged an inch. Bianca stood perched on a higher tree branch while the witty otter had his back pressed so firmly into the tree trunk that his claws were tearing into the bark. The both of them had terror whipped into their eyes; an uncanny fear that one would only show when they feared for their life.

"What are you two doing al the way back there?" Snow tilted her head in question, but deep down somewhere, she felt the answer was all too obvious.

"That's not right…" Bianca whispered, and Snow had to strain even her sensitive ears.

"What?"

"I said that's not right!" Bianca's wing snapped in Silver's direction, "Just what are you trying to pull, huh? Huh?"

Silver didn't look at her directly, or even turn around for that matter. His eyes slowly fell close, and the only acknowledgement for his attention was the flicker in his ears.

"What was all that? You pal around with us—treat us like we're your friends—only to go ripping and slashing through anything that moves?" Bianca stammered. The words were just rolling off her tongue like lead now beyond her control. "I always thought there was something off about you. I don't even know what the hell you are!"

"Bianca!" Snow barked, more offended than Silver, it seemed. "That's not fair! Or did you not notice that Silver just saved our butts?"

"Did YOU not notice anything, Snow? Notice that he does things that you couldn't—that you SHOULDN'T—be able to do?" Bianca snapped, "He lost it out there. The look in his eyes; those cold, cold eyes that had no heart were all too clear. This wasn't just a case of self-defense—he has blood lust. Silver wanted to…he wanted to kill them. He looked no different than the ones trying to burn us to death—something I'm still trying to wrap my head around."

At this, Silver glanced down at his paws, still stained with blood. Was he really no different…?

"That isn't true at all! We're still standing here, Bianca."

"For how long, Snow? How long before he turns on YOU, Snow? You honestly believe that he can keep it together if it happens again? He wouldn't have even stopped if you hadn't called out to him."

"Then it's a good thing he has me around."

"But will you be enough next time?" Bianca's expression had gone hard, the bird's gaze piercing and serious. Snow wanted to punch her. Punch her dead in the jaw and possibly send her careening into the thicket of trees beyond. Sure, she understood that Bianca and Silver didn't exactly get along so well, but this was just plain hurtful. She looked to Arin for some kind of support, but quickly realized that she'd have gotten more cooperation out of a hunter and his gun than the shell-shocked otter before her.

"You're absolutely right." Silver had returned calmly to the conversation. All eyes turned to him, Snow's desperately searching for some flicker of disapproving emotion in him; Bianca fearfully rejecting someone who may have gained even a fragment of her trust; and Arin looking as though his brain was still having trouble processing the unbelievable events from before. Silver felt his stomach turn. It's always one thing to hear the truth from a stranger, but something completely different to hear it from a friend. Responsibility weighed against his own selfishness as he spoke, but Silver skillfully masked any internal conflict from his friends.

"There's no telling what might happen in the near future. There's a chance that I could completely turn on you, and that's a risk I'd rather not take. His eyes wavered only for a moment. "So I'm going to ask all of you to go home and stop following me. Don't worry about the Asimi Bloom—I'll find it for Eve and come back just to return it. But as of now—" Silver turned his back on them. The truth of it was that he couldn't in all honesty continue to hold his poker face. But as he walked off down the ashen trail, he managed to save enough façade for one last statement, "Don't follow me. Go home, all of you." If anyone had said anything, he didn't make an effort to hear. He was already gone amongst the distance of trees. Everything would be behind him now…everything…

-)()()()()()()()()()()()()(-

Silver wasn't really sure how far he had actually gotten. Hell, he wasn't even sure he was paying enough attention to go the right way, wherever that was. He had promised he would find the Asimi Bloom for Snow, but now he realized he had no clue where to find it. After all, they had completely combed the area—and his thoughts stopped right there. There was no longer a 'they' anymore. 'They' had to be sacrificed for the good of their lives. He had to do it for them—selflessly do it for her, and that hurt the most. Silver forced the faces of Snow and the others out of his mind to focus on the task at hand. He knew the flower grew around vast amounts of fresh water, so if he could quickly find another such place, there still may have been time. Silver began to take off in a sprint, but was suddenly stopped in mid-run.

"Silver!" It was Snow. She came bounding over fallen branches and overgrown rotting roots until she slid to a halt before him. Silver's heart leapt in instant betrayal of his decision. He forced the overjoyed expression off his face just as fast as it had come. Remember what could happen, his inner thoughts snarled.

"You got pretty far pretty quick. But then, I guess I know why that is now." Snow spoke with that heightened spirit that Silver had come to fall so deeply in love with; that light that broke through the darkness like a blaze of fire. But indulgence was a cruel mistress sometimes.

"What are you doing here?" Silver sighed. He hoped it sounded as annoyed as he intended it to be.

"What do you mean 'what are you doing here'?" Snow turned the corners of her maw up. "I'm sticking by my future mate's side, that's what I'm doing."

"I can't be that." Liar, Silver's inner voice stung. But Snow was unwavering.

"Of course you can and you are. You know, I really don't care what Bianca said back there. I know you won't hurt me, Silver."

"You don't know that, Snow." Silver immediately turned to walk off. Snow brushed the tuft of headfur back from her face; back behind her ear the way she knew Silver liked it. She knew it elicited the same response from him as it did from Garth for her mother. She had inherited those eyes; the eyes of wild beauty and passion like windows of her soul reaching out to be united with her mate's. Snow spoke lowly.

"Even if you did hurt me, Silver…If you did, I wouldn't care. I'd keep loving you because I know that in your heart, you're mine. You'll only want to protect me."

Silver stopped dead. Words like a sharp-pointed arrow struck his heart. He felt his façade fading fast. He clawed the ground; it was seemingly all he could do, physically anchor himself to keep from rushing Snow in a rage of affection.

"You're crazy." Silver felt his lame comeback double back with chagrin. Snow walked around him just enough to where their faces were close; just enough to press her nose firmly against his. Instantly, all efforts to save face melted away, and Silver's response was a very passionate kiss. His mind wiped blank of his previous plan in an instant; surely he couldn't leave her now. Snow pulled away just barely to talk.

"Silver…from the time we were pups, we've been through so much together. We've been through danger and craziness; good times and bad times. And I have long since decided that I would never be ready to give that up, even if it meant we had to go through hell and back. Your past is your past, unchangeable and undeniable. But we have a past too, and that means that we are unavoidable."

Silver let his mouth turn up in a warm smile. There was no use fighting it anymore. Even if he did walk away again, Snow would just follow him. So instead, he placed his paw on her head and ruffled her headfur into a wild mess.

"Hush. It doesn't sound right when you start to make _that_ much sense."

"And I don't like it when you do that." Snow stuck her tongue out, though she let her headfur stay like that for a while before fixing it. "Now let's go find that flower so we can go home."

"Might not be so easy." Silver frowned, upset that there was something already dampening the mood. "We have to find another area that _may_ have the flower and time isn't exactly on our side." He could see the worry on Snow's face, but she quickly shook it off.

"We'll find it. We've come this far."

"And that might be far enough." Silver and Snow's ears perked up and the two turned back towards the path they had walked. The voice wasn't a hundred percent reassuring in tone, but it was warm enough. Arin came slowly walking down through the path of ash-ridden trees. Bianca was perched on his forehead, though she couldn't seem to look anyone straight in the eye.

"Arin! Bianca! Did you decide to change your minds?" Snow asked, clearly overjoyed to see them. Silver's tail wagged, his initial response towards seeing the return of his friends. However, that wasn't the only thing he spotted that made his spirit lift completely off the ground. Arin held it delicately, as though its shimmering white pedals would suddenly burst into flames like the rest of the godforsaken land around them. The stamen were so long and curly that they draped like long bronzed braids down the flower's side, and the green of the plant remained as vibrant as ever despite having been picked from god-knows-where.

"Is that—"

"Yup, it's that." Arin flashed a grin and thumbs up.

"Really" Snow damn near rushed the small otter. She reached out and touched the flower, as though the sight of the plant was too real to believe. "But where—how? We searched this place all over!"

"Bianca was the one who found it." Arin poked Bianca's side. She jumped with a ruffle of her feathers. Her look indicated that she could have just as easily bit that finger. "She was about to take off when she spotted it overhead. It looks like the fight with Silver dug it up from whatever rock it was hiding under."

"You two…" Snow clasped her paws around the flower. She was almost on the verge of tears. Here was hope literally laying in her grasp; here was the proof that she wasn't just a dreamer, and more importantly, that Eve's life now had a chance of being saved.

"Look…" Arin busied himself with twirling his foot in the ash, as to avoid direct eye contact with Silver. "Silver, I didn't mean to get all weird on you back there. It's just…all this—this is a lot to take in, you know." And then his expression went energetic. "I mean really, how cool were you, kicking butt like that? I guess I should've realized that you don't leave your friends hanging even when things get bad…or dangerous…or totally scary beyond all living reason—but not so scary as zombies or vampires or worse, my whacked-out fiancé. More like—"

"Arin, I get it." Silver nodded his head. It wasn't that he was expecting an apology but it really made him feel more at ease.

"Your turn." Arin looked up at Bianca. She still refused to look at Silver, and if she did give any kind of response, it was drowned by another ruffling of her feathers. For a while, the blue bird said nothing and stubbornly kept her cheek to him. Silver walked over, just close enough to not make her feel as though he was threatening her space.

"Thank you, Bianca. Without you, we'd probably be screwed right about now."

"You're a dumbass." Bianca chirped, "Let's just get moving on already, we're on a time limit."

"You're right. If we head back now, we can get there within a few days." Silver put the flower behind Snow's ear. Aesthetically speaking, it was ridiculously beautiful on her. I matched her fur like silver snowfall during the first real signs of winter creeping in the night. But as beautiful as she looked, Silver could tell that the thought of travel being as long as a few days was troubling.

"That'll take too long." Bianca fluttered into the air. "While I was looking—"

"So you _were_ looking, not flying off like you said."

"Shut UP, Arin. Like I said, while I was _flying_, I found a train heading back the way we came. If we hurry, we can make it."

"Seriously?" Snow exclaimed.

"Let's hurry then—"

"Wait." Bianca landed on Silver's muzzle. She was frowning dead in his eyes and her wings crossed over her chest. "When we're on board, we'll have some time. You owe me—owe _us_ a full explanation from start to finish."

Silver nodded, and though Bianca tried to remain indignant, a small smile crept on her face.

"Then let's get moving." She fluttered off and the others followed after.

-)()()()()()()()()()())()()()()(-

Night had come on faster than they had expected. By the time they were hiking alongside the weather-worn railroad, the sun was already nearly below the horizon. The rumbling freight train had slowed to a stop at the landing dock, and that's when Silver, Arin, Bianca, and Snow took the opportunity to stow away in the nearest boxcar away from the humans loading various anonymous objects into the others. The floor of the boxcar was cold, and the stench of hay and metal stung Silver's nose. Still, after all the walking and running they had done, the train was a godsend. The train engine car let out a loud bellow, a hiss of murky steam, and then slowly started to take off from the depot. Snow had snuggled against Silver with her head laying on top of his. The two of them watched the trees roll by one after another, as though the forest were some endless reel of a film. Arin looked exhausted, but fought sleep by dangling his feet out of the side of the boxcar door.

"Alright, Silver." Bianca perched herself annoyingly atop Silver's muzzle, and he resisted the urge to swat her like a gadfly. In truth, he had rather not speak about his past, but he did owe Bianca some closure at least.

"Well, as you know, I am the wolf from the legend. Both me and my brother, Garnet, were once one and the same, split by our own greed. Ever since then, we had been destined to fight each other, each trying to regain his former self." Silver glanced at his paws. "But there is a misconception. Everyone is under the notion that power is the only reason we've been doing this for decades. When my brother and I were torn, we lost ourselves; a part of each other always missing in the other half. Our fight is also a matter of identity and completion. For hundreds of years I've lived on, fighting to hang on to what little bit of me I had and to chase down the rest of me to be complete. But after a while, I got tired…'why do I need to be complete?' I would ask myself. 'Why is it so important?' And the more I thought about it, the less important for me it became. Eventually, I decided that it wasn't worth chasing and instead of seeking Garnet out, I ran. I ran as far as I could, traveling the world around, because I figured that if I kept moving, Garnet couldn't keep up with me."

Silver laid his fingers on the beads wrapped around Snow's wrist. She had gotten so used to them being there that his touch was like a reminder that they were still present. "Eventually, I came upon my village. I had been born as a pup again, so I figured that they would lend me food to eat. But the more I got to know them, the more fascinated about them—or maybe their lives—I became. The pack was actually a group of misfits from many other packs: those lost; those exiled; those abandoned. They had all come together as a family. In a sense, they had compensated their missing parts with each other, and I felt myself longing for that again…" Silver stopped for a moment. His expression had gone soft as the memories played with his mind. "My grandpa…well, he wasn't my real gramps. He was an alpha who had been overthrown from his pack for starting wars wantonly with rival packs. Oddly enough, his mate was the only wolf from that pack loyal enough to follow him into loneliness. He knew…somehow, he knew about me; knew about the conflict inside me, and offered me a way out. He took me in. he trained me; scolded me when I was bad; praised me when I was good. He was always there for me…I had found a home I never wanted to leave from. Even if I outlived my old family, I would grown through the generations with my pack forever…But forever is cruel sometimes. Garnet had found me faster than I'd have imagined. He challenged me right in the middle of my village—told me that there was no use delaying the inevitable. I refused, told him that I didn't want to be that wolf anymore; that if there was a way for me to give all my power up to be normal, I'd had done it." Silver frowned and dug his claws into the ply of the floor.

"So what did he do? He attacked me, right then and there. He didn't care how many other pack mates he hurt; he didn't care when he and his own misguided followers burned the elderly or slaughtered the innocent that stood in his way to protect me. My whole pack leapt to my rescue. It both moved me and made me hate myself for making them love me so. In the end, my grandpa was killed for trying to shield me from my brother. I had nothing again…and when Garnet torched the village, he left me for dead, scorning how 'soft' I had gotten. But I guess he didn't expect me to survive, though I was barely hanging on to what life I had. The shock of it all was too much, and the trauma erased my memories. All I could do was drag my burning body to the river. And that's when I met Snow…"

When Siler looked up, everyone else was starting at the floor. Snow's ears drooped to the sides of her head; Arin was (a bit overdramatically) bawling; but Bianca looked utterly shaken. It was as if someone had sucked all the heat from the room, leaving a poor defenseless Bianca all alone amidst the cold. Silver had no intention of making anyone upset. Hell, he didn't even want to tell the story to begin with.

"I didn't know…" Bianca managed to squeak out. She had been alone. She knew what it was like to be alone. But this was on a completely different scale altogether. "I didn't know and I said all those things back there."

"It's okay. Like you said, you didn't know."

"No, it's not!" Bianca turned away from Silver. She couldn't face him, not after hearing that; not after saying that. 'How long till he turns on you?' she had said. What was she thinking? "I'm a horrible friend…"

"You were scared." Silver reluctantly removed himself from beneath Snow. He sat down once again close enough to gain that empathy feel, but not so much as to invade Bianca's personal space. "I know you didn't mean any of it. I mean, you've already saved my ife and you found the Asimi Bloom we needed to find so bad. We fight, but I'll always consider you my friend, Bianca…"

At first, it looked as though she didn't believe him. Bianca kept her back to him without so much as a peep. Silver was about to give up and turn away when the tiny blue bird hopped over to him. Slowly, her wings wrapped around one of his legs and she leaned her head against him. It was so out of character for her that everyone looked to her as though she were something surreal.

"Really…?" She asked.

"Really."

"Good…oh, and by the way, if this hug leaves this train car, I swear I'll kill all of you."

"Sure." Silver patted the blue bird's head.

"There is something that's been bothering me, though." Arin rubbed the rest of his tears away from his face. "I was always lead to believe that you and your brother were the only ones with that kind of power. But back there, all those wolves were blowing flames all over the place. How is that?"

Silver's expression had once again gone serious. He gazed out of the boxcar and up at the clear starry sky passing by overhead.

"The story doesn't contain all the vital information about us, especially our individual abilities, except that the wind personifies life and the flames personify destruction. Creating subjugates is when Garnet or myself pass fragments of our power into living beings. They become endowed with a small portion of it, but at a cost." Silver frowned, "Subjugates are irrevocably bound to their master, and will die when he dies. And subjugates' free will is only maintained at the whim of their master. It's not a very happy life to lead, always under someone's every beck and call. I'd never do that to anyone, not even an enemy."

"But if those wolves are loyal to your brother, won't they try to come after you again? What if he comes and tries to…" Snow didn't finish her thought, but Silver understood. He had thought of that; wondered if Garnet was so bold as to go and attack Kate's pack just to get to him. But they wouldn't suffer the same fate. Not while he had Snow.

"Snow, I made a promise to you." Silver said. He placed his paw gently atop hers. "And I won't break it."

-()()()()())()()()()()()()-

**_Well, it seems that things have finally taken a turn for the better...at least for now. Just so you all know, another reason why this took so long is because there will be a prequel to this story. It was a long time in the making, but I had to make sure the format of the prequel was consistent with the main story. Chapter 6 won't be long in coming since it's already written, I just need to proof it, so look forward to it either at the end of this week or early next week!_**


	8. Precursor To A Fallen Wolf

**_Hi, everyone! As promised, chapter 6 is out a bit early (mostly because it was already written). You have all been wonderful and I thank everyone who have read and supported this story. This story has only about 3 or 4 more chapters so it's getting down the the wire now! Enjoy chapter 6, everyone. Don't forget to review ^^_**

Chapter 6: Precursor To a Fallen Wolf

Everyone had fallen asleep on the train except for Silver, who had busied himself with such boring games as count-the-passerby-trees, or trace-pictures-in-the-stars. All the while, a sense of unaccounted for nostalgia flowed through him the entire way. But soon, the familiar rushing waterfalls and mint green pines of Jasper Park came careening into the foreground. They were home. He had awaken his friends and they all began the walk down the familiar path towards the den area. Snow was especially happy to be back home, the Asimi Bloom bouncing wistfully behind her ear. They hadn't gotten very far when the howl of a sentry ripped through he air, eliciting a chain of familiar ones leading down through the park. It wouldn't be long before everyone knew they were back.

It was Lily who came bounding through the trees first at top speed towards Snow; white clashed on white as she mauled her daughter in a fierce hug. Garth was quick to follow, then Kate and Humphrey, Winston and Tony, and eventually a mob of wolves from the den area.

"Snow! My sweet baby pup, Snow, you're safe! You're safe…" Lily was practically smothering Snow. Worry wore a bit of age onto her. She looked as though she hadn't been eating properly, and her headfur was in a kind of careless disarray. But now, her eyes had regained their zeal for life. Garth nuzzled his daughter while, to his surprise, Kate and Humphrey fussed over Silver. It was a little odd that Anna wasn't the first one to greet him. They were immediately bombarded with the same questions: "Are you okay?" "Where have you been?" "What were you thinking?" and the like. It had taken them a few moments, but even Luna and Mick managed to squeeze their way up towards their friends. The fussy crowd had gotten so huge that Arin and Bianca were all but ignored.

"Mom, I'm alright…" Snow had to try and pry a crying Lily off her, as to not completely waterlog her fur.

"Snooooowwwwww!"

"What—"

Snow barely had time to react to the now-spinning world before thumping onto her back. Mick's tail wagged ridiculously, as though it would fly off at any moment. His paws were practically digging into Snow's shoulders.

"Where-have-you-been? Do you know how much I worried about you, you crazy, crazy wolf?" Mick exclaimed as stern as he possibly could. It wasn't much, however, because his wagging tail betrayed his seriousness.

"I missed you too, Mick—but you're crushing my shoulders…" Snow smiled up at him, but the corners of her mouth twitched at the creeping numbness in her shoulders. Mick's cheeks turned pink and he quickly rolled off the snowy white wolf with a quick, but murmured apology.

"You haven't changed." Silver pointed out.

"Awww, come ON! She dragged you back with her?" Mick mockingly slapped his paw to his muzzle, "And how much should I have changed? You weren't gone **that** long."

Silver grinned and closed one eye teasingly. "Long enough for you to damn near maul Snow like a wounded animal, though."

"**Now** he has jokes!" Mick threw his paws up and shook his head.

"What about me, Silver? Did you miss me too?" Luna's voice was sweet as she walked up to Silver. She batted her—for some reason—unusually long eyelashes at him that almost made him want to scoot away. But still, he smiled cheerfully and nodded.

"Of course I missed you, Luna. I even missed Mick a little bit too."

"Tch," Mick scoffed, but Luna seemed positively overjoyed. She smiled as wide as she could.

"How about some help, Silver?" Snow asked, still laying on her back. Silver saw her smirk secretly and smirked back, shaking his head. Already looking for attention, he thought. Silver walked over and nudged Snow slowly up to her feet. As he did, their muzzles almost discretely pressed and rubbed against each other. Luna's ears perked up in static realization. Her lips pressed tight together and she quickly busied her eyes down to the ground. As she did so, she got a glimpse of Snow's wrist; saw the sheen of starlight reflecting off the beads wrapped around it.

"Hey, aren't those Silver's?" Mick asked the unvoiced question. The rosy blush stood out vividly against Snow's cheeks as she admired her bracelet.

"Silver gave them to me." Her voice caressed the air. Though it was hard to see between them, Mick and Luna could just barely make out Silver's and Snow's tails slowly—gently—intertwining with each other. Mick's ears gave a solemn flicker.

"Oh really?" His voice spoke, but hit the ear with a lot of the earlier zeal dramatically withdrawn.

"Mhm," Snow beamed brightly.

"Well, uhm…that's good, I suppose." Mick said.

Tony was the first to notice the Asimi Bloom clinging behind Snow's ears, and his jaw nearly dropped. He couldn't quite get the words out at first, whether it was from surprise or form the over crowding of wolves.

"Is that what I think it is?"

"Oh right!" Snow jumped up, warding off the surrounding wolves. "Grandma—we have to get to her right now."

"Snow…she's…she's not up to seeing visit—"

"No, this has to be **now**! We found it!" Snow exclaimed, presenting the flower to Kate. She tilted her head, more so at Snow's conviction than the actual flower. Nevertheless, the wolves parted to the sides and Snow and Silver darted straight up the middle towards the den. Arin and Bianca hitched a ride on Silver's back.

Silver wished he could've returned to Snow's den under a happier circumstance. Both his and Snow's ears drooped upon gazing into the dimly-lite stone structure. Eve lay in pretty much a crumpled mess on a makeshift bed of grass in the corner. Her breathing was so terribly labored that it sounded painful even from a distance. One of her eyes opened just barely from the movement, but it was horribly dilated. Her sun-yellow fur had now become an ashy mustard color, matted in some spots. It was almost painful to watch.

"Oh wow…" Arin breathed.

"There isn't any time." Tony snatched up the flower and walked with Winston to Eve's side. He first wrung the leaves out over her mouth, and the four friends watched as a soupy dew dripped onto her dry-hanging tongue. Winston took over after, crushing the petals with his claw. They both looked quite rehearsed as the once silvery petals had now become a salve that was placed on Eve's chest and muzzle.

"Well just have to wait and hope…" Tony answered the unspoken question. Winston seemed to barely have been stirred by this ray of hope. He wouldn't be uplifted until he was sure that his mate was going to live. The old wolf snuggled up against Eve's side. The imprint in the bed under which he was laying meant he only ever left her side when he had to. Now, they could do nothing more.

"You two," Kate's expression had gone serious. It was always a little unnerving to see that alpha training in action; that unwavering command over even her own emotions in a time such as this. She jerked her head in a motion for Snow and Silver to follow and trailed out the den with Humphrey, Garth, and Lily. The two young wolves exchanged equally quizzical glances before following the elder wolves. They hadn't gotten far really; just out to the ledge of the den where they were hopefully out of earshot. It was then that Kate started to pace the ground, her expression getting harder. Come to mention it, Lily, Garth, and even Humphrey were throwing discerning looks their way.

"I can't believe you two." Kate started. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? Do you really think we needed this on top of everything else?" She turned to glare daggers at them, and Silver suddenly felt two inches tall. No matter who or what he was, he had associated the role of alpha to Kate for most of his life, and the weight of her authority was still enough to make him dread a scolding. "For days we sent search party after search party to find you, and how do you think we felt to learn you were off the territory; that you could have been anywhere? Your mothers have had such a hard time—Silver, yours is still out and about somewhere!" There was an awkward silence in which no one dared to say a word. Kate's voice was like a weight in the air, and no one wanted to be under it when it fell. It was Garth who finally broke the quiet.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?"

"…" Snow fidgeted her paws nervously. "I just…"

"We just," Silver helped Snow start.

"We jus waned o help grandma. We aren't pups anymore. And…" Snow hesitated for a moment, biting her lip. True, there was a nobility to their actions, but she couldn't deny the truth sitting in the corner of her thoughts. "And because I wanted to see what I could see. I was tired of seeing the same four walls everyday; tired of never being taken serious because of my dream. I went out. I saw a bit of the world, and I did my best—no, we did our best to save grandma."

It had taken some courage to get it out, but once she said it, Snow suddenly felt proud of herself. She had accomplished what she set out to do; made friends; found love; had an adventure while still finding what an entire pack could not. And Silver nodded in agreement to her.

"You two could've gotten seriously hurt." Kate continued, "I can't even begin to think of a punishment suitable enough for you." The female alpha wolf finally stopped her pacing and took a seat. The seriousness slowly melted away, as if transitioning from her higher leader role to a kind-hearted mother. "And that's why I'm thanking you for all you've done…"

Silver and Snow, who had winced for the blow of punishment, were now sitting stupefied again.

"I'm so proud of you Snow…very, very upset, but proud. Now mom has a fighting chance to beat this." Lily spoke softly.

Garth walked over and placed his paws on both Snow's and Silver's shoulders. "You did well. Couldn't have done better myself."

"And he couldn't."

"Shut up." Garth rolled his eyes at Humphrey, who made a rather lewd response in return. A sense of pride welled up inside Snow. To hear praise in light of punishment was definitely a preference, but the weight of her accomplishment didn't really hit her until she felt her family acknowledge her; prestige, not only amongst herself, but the entire pack stating that she—no they—did something worthwhile.

She was so busy feeling proud of herself that she didn't notice the growling in her stomach until she heard Silver's, Arin's, and Bianca's as well. When had the last time they'd eaten anything been, come to think of it? Kate let out a relieved sigh and nodded.

"Right. Let's go eat."

-()()()()()()()()()()()()()(-

There hadn't been a liveliness amongst the pack such as now for seemingly a long time. The air was charged with happy talk amongst family and pack mates; the pups who once suffered from the same stagnant moods as their parents were now flitting about too fast for their parents to even care. There had been no scraps tonight; fresh food from a well planned hunt the afternoon before served for a hearty meal that helped lift their spirits even higher.

Having recanted their story to Kate, Humphrey, Garth, Lily, Winston, and Tony, the four friends had commenced in joining in on the festive spirits of the pack.

"So there I was," Arin stood proud and tall amongst a group of pups, who all starred at him with attentive, absorbing stares. "I had ten wolves on one side, thirteen on the other, and one the size of a bear—no, _two_ bears—in front of me. There was no way of escape, but was I scared? Heck no!" He started to make wide, dramatic gestures with his arms. "So I wrestled the first one down, then hurled him right into the big one! And then, I kicked the other one right between the—"

"Your stupid is catching!" Bianca dropped her foot squarely down on Arin's head, effectively silencing the now teetering otter and gaining elated giggles from the pups.

Snow had busied herself in telling highlights of their adventure to her parents, leaving out the parts of fire-breathing wolves, of course. She wasn't quite ready to be called crazy as a cherry topping on their accomplishments yet. It sounded a lot less exciting in her recantation, but she figured that their travel was something better experienced than told. Silver was a lot hungrier than he thought. He only gave the occasional nod to Snow's story, more concerned with shoving food into mouth as fast as possible. Luna and Mick had come to join their friends, sending a wave of nostalgia at having their group of four back together through the young wolves.

"And that's when we hopped the train back to Jasper Park." Snow finished subtly enough, for all the dramatic fluff she had given in the beginning.

"Wow, that sounds a little familiar." Humphrey nudged Kate, who nodded in agreement.

"Except a little more crazy." Said Snow, who still seemed to be musing on the otter tribe chase. "Yeah, crazy's a good word for it, but it was also really fun." She gave a stretch and then pressed herself back against Silver's side, resting her head down on his back. "We got to see things we wouldn't have gotten to see here. And we even made new friends." She wasn't sure if it was the fact that she said it was fun, or something else that gained the group stares or secret smirks from the others. For a while, no one said anything to her or Silver, and it was up to Silver—who had a few crumbs cutely scrawling his cheek—to break the silence with a rather dumb-sounding, "Huh?"

"And when did _this_ happen here?" Humphrey teasingly waved his finger between the two.

"Humphrey, leave them alone." Kate nudged him.

It took a moment for Snow to interpret Lily's wide smile; Garth's fool grin; and the giggling going on between Mooch, Shakey, and Salty. She felt her cheeks flush a light shade of pink.

"Well, me and Silver are…uhm…" Snow nearly jumped from the brush of Silver's wagging tail.

"We're going to be mates soon." Silver said very proudly. He brought his head against Snow's, who readily nuzzled him back in affection.

"And it's about time too. I was kind of wondering when that was going to happen." Garth stretched.

"I'm so happy for you, Snow." Lily walked over and nuzzled the both of them. "Once mom is better, we have to start planning on your wedding right away."

"Tch," There was a clatter of bones hitting the ground, but it was more so the sharp expelling of breath that kind of snapped them all out of their wedding talk. Luna had barely eaten too much of anything and got up to abandon the bones of whatever she did. It was a bit difficult to interpret the expression on her face. As a matter of fact, she hadn't done much talking at all since after meeting up with them on the edge of the territory. Luna stared at her two friends; gazed upon them with eyes that lead to no kind of explanation of what she was silently thinking. So instead of saying a single word, the young she-wolf turned and walked off into the crowd of their pack.

"Luna?" Silver had called after her, but she must not have heard him.

"What's wrong with her?" Snow asked.

"Well, she really missed you. I-I missed you too, Snow." Mick tried to add hastily, but it wasn't at all like how he used to talk to her. Now, it was as if he wasn't even trying to impress anymore. "She's probably just a little upset you stayed away for so long or something like that.

"But she seemed just fine when we got here…" Snow said.

"I'll go talk to her." Silver rose to his feet and started after Luna. Mick watched him leave, then turned to Snow. She looked honestly worried. Snow turned to Mick and searched him. His answer bugged her. Luna had been so upbeat the moment they came back. She knew Luna, had known her since the day they were born. If it was really a matter of missing them, then Luna would have talked and talked till their ears bled.

"Just let them sort it out..." Mick said, as if reading Snow's mind.

"What's going on, Mick? You two have been kind of…off since we got back to the den—especially Luna." Snow asked.

At first, it seemed Mick wouldn't answer. He rubbed his arm and allowed his gaze to wonder anywhere to avoid looking at Snow directly. The parents had gone quiet, probably feeling that the less they got involved, the least messy the situation would get. But at that point, Mick had hoped one of them—or anyone, really—would step in a relieve him of the burden of giving Snow an explanation. She looked at him with intense curiosity and true worry for Luna, and for him. Mick couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth, So instead, he waved his paw at her.

"Just let things be. It'll work out."

"There's something you aren't telling me." Snow raised up to her feet and started off.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to go talk to Luna too." She responded.

"But Snow—"

"Mick, she's my friend, I have to help out." Snow insisted and darted off through the crowd without another word. Mick's outstretched paw hovered idly for a moment, as though some magnetic force would magically pull Snow back to his side. But he sighed at the vanity of it all and forced himself up to follow.

-()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(-

Silver mentally kicked himself. How could he have not noticed something going on with his friend? Any other time, Luna would have been so in-his-face that he would start to question the parameters of his personal space. But she hadn't said a single word to him in the slightest since they got back to the den. The young black-furred wolf shook his head in shame—some friend he was. Silver rounded through the crowds of wolves until he found himself out of the den area. At this point, he had to rely on his sense of smell to follow after Luna. He was amazed at how far she had gone in such a short amount of time. Her trail wound around trees and through the shrubbery. There were even points where she purposely crossed a thicker part of a stream when there was an easier way around it. Was she trying to make it hard for him to follow?

"Dammit, Luna…" Silver muttered to himself.

Despite her obvious attempts to lose him, Silver finally found Luna huddled up beneath the shade of a low-hanging pine tree. Her head rested so low between her paws that it almost looked as though she was hiding behind them. Her ears hung limp at the sides of her head. Silver slowly walked over to his friend and nudged her with his muzzle.

"Ah?" Luna damn neared knocked him over when he touched her, and when she finally calmed down to realize it was him, she turned her entire body away. "Oh, it's just you."

"So I'm a 'just me' now?" Silver blinked and sat down. Luna moved slightly, almost as if she didn't want him next to her at all. He ignored it and continued, "Luna, what's wrong?"

"There's nothing wrong." Luna returned all too quickly. Silver felt her tense, like she was trying to distance as much of herself from him as she could while they sat that close together.

"It doesn't seem like nothing is wrong." This time, Silver walked around her. If she wouldn't face him willingly, then he would go to meet her all the way instead. His muzzle became level with hers and her eyes immediately darted to the side. "You can tell me. We're friends, aren't we, Luna?"

"That's right, we're friends. Always friends, Silver." Luna's voice edged at the end, losing her ability to hold up the façade she was trying so desperately to hold onto. She wouldn't dare look him in the eye and got up to move. Silver followed.

"Luna—"

"God, I said I was **fine**!" Luna's bark shook the trees, startled the slumbering birds, and stopped Silver dead in his tracks. If he had started to say something, it was surely shaken out of him now. Luna hung her head and sighed. The stars tried desperately to breath as much light through the canopy of trees as possible, resulting in flecks of light on her fur. Silver hadn't noticed how clean it was until now. Not the kind of clean from everyday grooming. No, this was deliberate scrubbing until the natural sheen of her fur stood out like thousands of micro gems on her body. Had Silver missed something? Was there some special occasion that may have possibly slipped his mind, and now he was paying the consequences for?

"It's always been like this, Silver. Ever since we were pups, it always stays the same. I'll always be the friend—just the sidekick with nothing important to give. Tell me, Silver…have you once…just once, ever noticed me?"

The gust of wind seemed to blow from out of nowhere, rustling wildly against their fur, as Luna looked back to gaze at Silver directly. Pain. Longing. Maybe even a little anger. That's what hit Silver hard the moment their eyes met. The corner of Luna's clung to minute, bulbous tear drops that didn't seem to want to fall. It was that moment—that moment of unspoken communication—did Silver finally realize. But then…how could he not have noticed to begin with?

"When we were little, I tried to see if you would notice me…but the only person you responded to was Snow. I didn't exist to you…" Luna said, "I thought that maybe when we got older, things would change. Maybe you'd see that there had been someone trying to be close to you all the time. Someone trying really, really hard to be there for you no matter what. She didn't even love you, Silver…all Snow wanted was another friend; someone who agreed with her and felt the same way about the world as she did. I wanted to help you, and be there for you. When I found out you lost your memories, I…" She glanced to the ground for a moment. "I wanted to be the one you built your new ones with. But you went to her. You always noticed Snow no matter what. Why…?"

Silver had no answer. It was something very hard to explain. True, his feelings for Snow had developed over time until they were where they were now, but truthfully, it felt like those feelings had really always been there to begin with. He was drawn to Snow like a magnet, as though his heart knew who she was before he knew who she was.

"Why is it always Snow…?" Luna slowly started towards him. "Silver, if…if I had met you, first; if I had been the one you connected to that day, tell me…" She treaded closer, never breaking an almost hypnotic eye contact. "Would you have noticed me?"

"Luna…I can't say—"

"No, look at me!" The moment Silver turned his head, Luna pounced him, punning his back to the ground. The tears were rolling off her muzzle and splattering all over his face. He was beginning to feel uncomfortable as Luna clenched a fistful of his chest fur. True, he could have just lobbed her off at anytime, but couldn't bring himself to do anything but stare. Not while she was sobbing; not while she was looking at him like some fragile thing crumbling before his eyes.

"After you left, I made a promise to myself. I promised that I'd tell you the truth; tell you my feelings. So I waited for you every day…prepared myself every day so I would stand out for you…but now, you're getting married to her. What's so special about her? Why won't you look at me?"

Silver honestly couldn't say a word. He felt so uncontrollably guilty. And even more uncomfortable. She was so close to him, he could smell just how clean her fur really was. Puffs of heat blew against his muzzle every time she talked, and it made his body shiver beneath her. How could he have possibly answered those questions? How could he have possibly explained things to her and safeguard her emotions at the same time? Luna was his friend. He didn't want to hurt her.

"Silver," Luna's paws grasped his cheeks and red flags flared in Silver's mind. He had to get away. He instinctively moved his head to the side. But Luna was much quicker, and had firmly pressed her nose completely against his own.

"I love you…"

"There you are!"

Silver shrank, his heart suddenly rattling against his ribs like a gorilla in a cage. Time had turned annoyingly slow as the bushes nearby gave a foreboding rustle; as Snow's pure white body emerged into the clearing with an elated look at finally finding the two.

Only to have it shatter right before her eyes. Nothing moved for what seemed like an eternity. Snow's eyes felt stung with the lie of what they were showing her: Silver laying beneath Luna; Luna's nose nuzzled as close as possible to his; Silver's shocked face of horror; and Luna too busy kissing to notice what was actually going on.

"Wha…" Snow's voice caught in her throat. Her mouth moved, but not even air came out. It was as though she was seeing them, but not processing clearly.

"Snow, why'd you go so fast?" Mick chimed as he finally caught up. His ears raised attentively when he noticed Silver and Luna, and it was easy to see the look of foreboding creeping on his face.

"I…I see…" Snow finally found her voice. As reality finally set in, mauling her chest with a weight that felt like lead. Her ears fell flat against the sides of her head and her eyes were already starting to water at the base. She wanted to say so much, but the words were piling up in a jumbled mess inside her head. So instead, she turned around and ran as fast as she could; ran from the horrible scene behind her. It wasn't real, she told herself. It was a bad dream; a horrible flight of fancy gone even more awry.

It took some time for Silver to snap out of his stupor. And at this point, he could have cared less about heaving the mass of female wolf off of him. Reality was like a slap in repeated fast forward and his legs wouldn't obey to move forward.

"Snow…Snow!"

"Wait…" Mick grabbed his shoulder. Silver had half a mind to snap it off.

"Let me go."

"Go back to the den."

"Why should I? I have to go after her!" Silver explained desperately.

"And do what? She's too shocked to listen, Silver." Mick barked. "Let her cool off first…then go find her when she'll actually hear what you have to say." Silver felt the chagrin build in his mouth and he could spit fire if the world would let him. But Mick did have a point, weighting against his reason to go after her and right the misunderstanding at hand. Silver closed his eyes and shrugged Mick's paw off his shoulder. He would wait. This was worth waiting for if it gave him a better chance to explain to Snow. Still, his heart felt like lead in his feet, and even walking away was like walking underwater.

Mick watched as Silver slowly loped off into the distance. Once the midnight wolf was out of sight and well out of earshot, he rounded on Luna with a serious expression. She couldn't bring her eyes to him, probably because she knew what was coming. She busied her vision on her paws instead, ears hanging so low that they kissed her cheeks.

"What the hell was that, Luna?" Mick asked. "What did you do?"

"I-I don't know…" Luna mumbled.

"Luna—"

"I said I don't know!" She snapped, the tears falling free from her eyes once again. "It isn't fair! He finally comes back and then tells us he's getting married! I couldn't help myself. It hurt so much…"

"I'm hurt too, Luna! I'm hurt too!" Mick exclaimed, stamping his paw on the ground. The grass lay flat beneath his toes. "What, you think I wasn't torn up when I heard it? When I _saw_ it? I've been in love with Snow ever since she was born! All through my childhood, I had to be in love with someone who was falling for someone else, and tonight was the final nail in the coffin." Mick would have shown his tears, but bravado forced them back. "I was hurt too, but this—this what happened here—that's too far, Luna. That's way too far."

"Whatever…." Luna plopped down on the floor. She looked utterly spent and no amount of glaring from Mick would make her return home for a while.

-()()()()()()()()()()()()-

Snow finally slowed to a stop. She couldn't run anymore and gulped the night air into her stinging lungs. She wanted to keep running; to keep moving further and further away from the bad memories that chased her. But no sooner had she stopped did the images repeat in her mind: Silver under Luna, the two of them kissing each other out in the open. It made her wretch. Is that how he truly felt the whole time? Was Silver really so much in love with Luna that he was just waiting to be alone with her? Or was this some kind of thing that had been going on even before the start of their leaving? Snow took in a few more deep breaths before staying herself. She had never figured Silver to be that kind of person. To think of him as someone who would betray her feelings was something she couldn't understand. The very image of Silver and Luna was like a bad dream Snow couldn't convince herself wasn't real.

It wasn't until she sat down did Snow realize where she was. She had instinctively run back to her Cliffside spot; back to the place where she had poured so much of her soul. The place where Silver made his promise…

"What am I to you…?" Snow voiced out loud. She gazed down to her paws. Her eyes automatically fell on the beaded bracelet Silver had given to her. He gave it to her because she was special to him. Because he loved her…right? Snow felt a twinge of anger starting to flare behind the sadness. Angry at Silver for breaking her heart; angry at Luna—who was supposed to be her friend—for hurting her so; and angry at herself for thinking such a surreal relationship could even exist. After all, Silver was something legendary. She was normal. Snow slipped the beads off her paws and gazed at them. The tears had begun to stream form her face beyond her control, splattering the ground.

"Stupid Silver…stupid, stupid, stupid!" And without a second thought, Snow pitched them over the edge. The beads glinted in the starlight as they flitted towards the valley below, and finally out of sight. She stared for just a few moments more before plopping down on the ledge. Maybe she would sleep there for tonight.

"Good evening, miss."

The voice was foreign. The scent was unfamiliar. But maybe it was the fact that it so soundlessly crept on her that Snow leapt up to her feet. A large wolf with dead-grass yellow fur approached her slowly. Everything about him made Snow want to run; his threateningly calm, but vibrant turquoise eyes; the air of authority around him; and most definitely the entourage of silently moving group of wolves behind him. They all stopped a ways from Snow, but spread out to ensure that there was no direction she could go to get past them…alive.

"Who are you?"

"I believe it's Snow, isn't it? Seems a shame that Silver would leave such a pretty thing all alone." The large wolf walked closer, into the starlight. And that's when Snow noticed the flame insignia on his arm. Waves of panic flushed through Snow as she backed to the edge of the cliff. She started to call to Silver—but then quickly stopped. Would he have even come…?

"Don't bother." Koda said, as though reading her thoughts. He slowly raised a paw over his head. The claws sparked before his whole paw ignited with fire. "This may sting…a lot…"

-()()()()()()()()()()()-

It had been the worse night of sleep in his life. Silver lay on his back on the bare floor of his den, though he hadn't started out that way. He had tossed and turned from one uncomfortable position to another. Dreams painstakingly stole sleep from him, and when the coming of dawn forced him from the hour or two he did get, Silver cursed the sun. The wolf rolled like a sloth onto his stomach. His den was empty. Strange to see his mother still hadn't come back yet. He was starting to get very worried, but Winston had told him sometimes Anna stayed out for days when looking for him. He would have to do something incredibly nice for her when he got back. Bianca and Arin were huddled up in the back corner of his den. And then, there was Snow. She hadn't come back that night and he hadn't much cared for explaining all the details of last night to her parents. So instead, he had waited in vain for her return.

Silver forced himself to his paws and loped off. Maybe Snow would be home now. The sun was harsh on his eyes as he made his way to her den. To his surprise, Eve was up, eagerly cramming food into her mouth. She still looked sickly, but some of the color had returned to her (as well as her obvious appetite).

"Slow down, honey…" Winston dabbed crumbs off her face in small, almost eager kisses. He too seemed to be up in spirits.

"Winston…" Eve started calmly with a half smile, "If you weren't kissing on me right now, I'd tie you up with your own tail." At this, Winston smiled, bemused. It looked like Eve was going to be fine.

"Good morning." Silver hummed as best as he could.

"Hello, dear." Eve beamed at him proudly. "I heard what you and Snow—" (He winced at her name) "—did for me. I can't thank you enough…"

"No, no, you don't have to thank me for anything. We couldn't just let you die." Silver hoped he didn't seem rude when he craned his head around the den. Kate was already up and out, which meant Humphrey was also attending to his own (if not meager) responsibilities. Garth and Lily were attending to some pups in the corner, but Snow was nowhere to be found.

"Has Snow been around?" Silver asked.

"No, I haven't seen her at all today." Eve said. A worried look crossed Silver's face. So she never returned home. She must've been madder at him than he thought. Winston placed a paw on Silver's shoulder. Silver hadn't told the whole story to anyone, just that he and Snow had gotten into a fight and that he didn't want to talk about it. That was, everyone except for Winston. There was something about the elder wolf that made all that age and experience seem trustworthy. Almost like his grandfather.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Try looking for her and talking things out."

"The things that must be going through her head right now…" Silver spoke, "What if she thinks that I don't love her?"

"Show her you do." Winston said. "Sometimes, you just have to go that extra mile."

A nugget of wisdom was all he needed to get going, and with a nod, Silver marched off with a newfound source of energy. He would find Snow. He would tell her everything was a misunderstanding and a mistake; tell her that nothing in any world could ever change his feelings for her.

Jasper Park had officially returned to a state of normalcy. Everyone was going about their business, enjoying the perfect sunshine and perfect weather of what would be a perfect day. Silver made his way around the territory in search of Snow. His first guess was her cliff side spot, but it had been completely bare when he arrived. He surveyed the lake, checked the foothills, and even walked as a passerby along Kate's hunting route. He was very reluctant to check the clearing where he encountered Luna, lest he run into her again. He hadn't seen her since and at the moment, would rather it stay that way for a while. But the day had waxed on well beyond Silver's notice, and by the time the dusk had begun, there had been no sign of Snow. At this point, he had started to panic. 'Is she mad at me' was now 'Is she safe?'. He thought that she might have gone off the territory, but was she so mad that she'd go that much out of her way? Silver had tried to track her by scent several times, but the trail always ended cold. When nightfall came, he found himself becoming very anxious. Where the hell was she? Silver retraced his steps twice over before returning back to Snow's cliff. Her scent was the strongest there. But it also just ended there.

"Snow…where are you?"

As though answering his question, a chorus of whimpers and howls shot into Silver's ear from the distance. His nose flickered at the strong (Yet faint only due to the distance) scent that stung the insides. Smoke. Silver craned his head around and froze with horror. In the darkness of the night, the den was now a faint glow of orange between the trees. Cinders danced amongst the branches like millions of potentially combustible fireflies, and fluffy black clouds of smoke billowed upwards until they eventually dissipated into the stratosphere. Silver's eyes shrank in horror as memories flickered through his thoughts like a bad movie; the flames, the now ashen land that was once his previous home. He tried to blink it away. Maybe he was just going senile. But the roar of flames in the distance verified his sanity. Silver glared and bound down the cliff at top speed. The way he moved through the forest was something effortless, possibly the panic powering him. It didn't take long for the midnight wolf to reach the flaring walls of fire that hugged the trees around the den area. Branches crackled—one nearly falling off on top of him—and heat swirled the air enough to make him gag. Silver carefully navigated around it before dashing into the den area. It was so strange; all of the wolves of the pack were huddled in the middle of the clearing as much as possible. Though fear gripped them like a vice (as demonstrated by their barking and whimpering) none of them seemed particularly burned or even singed. As a matter of fact, the entire den area wasn't actually on fire on the inside. It was as though the flames were stopped by an invisible ring on the ground so that the flames acted more like a wall.

"Silver!" Lily exclaimed. She shoved her way through the crowd and hurried up to his side. The look of worry was back on her face. "Did you find Snow?"

"Lily, I—"

"I guess everything is in order now." A forced kind of silence fell amongst the pack as heads darted around to find the voice that come from nowhere and everywhere all at once. "I hope you appreciate the liberties I took. I very well couldn't have everyone burning to death yet."

Koda's body appeared in a flicker of flames. At first, a silhouette, and then slowly melting into the full form of his figure as he stepped out atop the ledge of the alpha den. His expression was blank, belying the weight of power he held in his voice. In very much the same manner as he had appeared, a group of red and yellow-furred wolves materialized until they were perched on every high point in the den.

"You've gotta be kidding me…" Arin said through clenched fangs. Bianca sucked air in, puffing her chest up in fearful defiance.

Silver let out an involuntary snarl and glared. Sure, he had grown now, but the features of Koda were unmistakable. He could remember the small pup that stood at Garnet's right hand side; the pup who's soulless eyes would watch as innocent others burned at his paws without so much as a wince.

"What do you think you're doing here, Koda?" Silver's voice came out as a low growl. Koda's ears flickered nonchalantly as he surveyed the surrounding area. Though he made no expression to show it, his disapproval was something that could be easily sensed.

"I just don't understand it. So much power at your disposal and you prefer to hide out amongst such a mundane lot. The two of you are nearly like night and day." He spoke simply. His eyes fell from Lily to the group of pups huddled up underneath her. His staring must've set Garth off, for the masculine red wolf stood before his mate defensively.

"What the hell is your problem?" Kate stomped forward. Her ears were pinned forward and she glared daggers at Koda. "You think you can just barge in and—"

Koda's muzzle sparked; Kate barely saw Silver rush in front of her with godly speed before the air in front of them combusted, sending the two of them sliding across the dirt. Silver braced Kate with his body as they slammed into the wall of a den with a loud thud.

"Kate! Humphrey and Winston rushed over. Silver didn't know what was worse; the tons of shocked, now horribly frightened stares of disbelief from his pack, or Kate crumpled up on the ground before him. He rose to his paws quickly and started towards the wolf.

"Now, now, Silver. I certainly did not come with the intent to fight, minor annoyances aside. Please stop, or next time I might take my annoyance out on one of those pretty white-furred pups."

Silver's body seized almost instantly. Snow's much younger brothers and sisters were trembling beneath Lily, who looked so unnaturally on edge that she could kill anyone who got near them, friend or foe. Silver sucked air through his fangs and glared dangerously at Koda. The chagrin within him was unmistakable and he could already feel his power swelling up to the surface of his skin.

"I only came here as a messenger, Silver." Koda carried on as though nothing happened. "It's about time that you stop hiding yourself out amongst this trash—"

"My family, not trash—"

_BANG!_ Silver's eyes widened in fear. The air near one of Lily's pups exploded in a roar of flames. Both parent and pup were so scared that they froze grounded in their places.

"Really now, Silver, I can't stand the smell of this place. Do be kind and let me finish." Koda said indifferently. Silver ground his fangs. Such cowardice! Just the thought of using his own family as leverage against him made Silver's blood boil. "In any case, Lord Garnet has requested your presence. It has been a long time coming, but there will be no more delay from you." Koda's eyes flickered just once. "You will come and you will take on Lord Garnet. It is your inescapable destiny."

"W-what is he talking about, Silver?" Kate trembled as she rose shakily, "Do you know something about all this?" Silver instantly felt a horrible pang of guilt. When it all boiled down to it, his pack was only in this situation because of him; because he was selfish enough to want them and want their love.

"Oh, that's right. It's just like before; you didn't tell your 'family' about yourself." Koda stated, "What is this, Silver? Do you think that if you façade normalcy, everything will progress accordingly? Why is power wasted on such fools…?" Koda sat down and transfixed his eyes on Eve. The elder she-wolf was already paralyzed with fear to begin with. She jumped at his gaze and shook from the very core of her body. Without warning, Koda spat a stream of flames directly towards Eve. She couldn't run—couldn't move at all. She could only watch and die.

"KODA!"

Silver felt himself drown inside. The fall into his power was always like letting his soul fall into a thick, black soup. His wings shot out of his back and he was standing before Eve within milliseconds. His silver eyes screamed power and death. A wind of energy whipped from around him; tore into the on-coming stream of flames like lots of tiny hands picking apart the petals of a flower. The wind nearly forced Koda back, but he held his passiveness. Though he could feel the tug—the slip into the madness of his own power—Silver still felt very much in control. He had to. He would rather die than let his family die first. But what he didn't notice at first was the seriously frightened pup that was now cringing away from him. As a matter of fact, everyone was staring at Silver with the same lost kind of look.

"It looks like you all have some things to discuss. Oh, and Silver." Koda added as an afterthought, "If this wasn't enough incentive for you, we do hold something else of interest to you." In response to some unseen gesture, Ophelia slowly came into view next to Koda. Kate's ears flickered at the sight of her, the wolf they had so kindly taken in and nursed back to health. In Ophelia's mouth, something glinted against the firelight. Snow's bracelet. Silver felt his whole body turn rigid. He was both horrified and enraged all at once and he wasn't sure which one was holding him back. Ophelia brandished the beads like a cape to a bull.

"You have until sunrise tomorrow, Silver. You will come to meet Lord Garnet at the Sacred Bastion—you know the place." Koda rose to his feet. Almost instantly, the other wolves started to back away. Ophelia lobbed the bracelet over and it landed with a plop at Silver's feet. She grinned evilly to him, almost daring him to come and take a shot at her.

"Oh, and Silver," Koda turned his back to him, "Make sure you bring your A-game."

And in pretty much the same manner they had appeared, Koda and his wolves turned to vanish in a flicker of flames. The wall of fire surrounding the den area dissipated, leaving only a few cinders hanging in the air. But the damage was already done. As the fever in Silver's body calmed down, and the wings on his back disappeared, He had become painfully aware of the eyes staring at him. The gap between him and his pack mates had suddenly become wider, and the pups were cringing behind their parents, provided they weren't trembling themselves. The eyes that once held him with so much respect were now cringing in fear. Bianca let out a guilty sigh.

Silver turned to Kate, who was pretty much the only one who didn't flinch at his movement. But her gaze was hard and searching, as if she was unsure who Silver was anymore.

"This is unbelievable…" Winston was the first to speak after a long flabbergasted moment. "I never have—no, couldn't have ever expected those stories to be true."

"Are you mad?" Silver asked.

"I don't know what I am right now…" Lily squeaked. It was just as well. Silver hadn't expected anyone who found out about him to really accept him with open arms. It was a miracle that Snow, Bianca, and Arin accepted him. But now wasn't the time to ponder that. The arm of his destiny had finally caught up to him after a long lifetime of running. And Silver knew he couldn't bare anything to happen to Snow or his pack.

"Look," Silver spoke, "I know you're all upset with me. I'd be upset with me too. But no matter what, I'll make sure nothing happens to this pack. I—" He felt the word weighted in his throat, having already betrayed it once before. "I promise. I'll go and bring Snow back."

"Silver," Bianca hopped along the ground and looked up to him. "This is what they want. They want you to go there so they can try to kill you."

"Like in the story…" Kate said with a late realization.

"What choice do I have? If I don't go, they'll hurt Snow and my family. I can't bare that again, Bianca…"

"Silver, tell me something." Kate started forward. Her look of fear had melted into a hard expression of concern. She stopped just inches away from Silver, and he could feel that alpha authority trying to hover over him once again. "Is there a chance you won't come back?" The question was powerfully straight-forward and a very hard one to answer. Up until now, Silver had lost his life along with Garnet every time the two fought. He only managed to survive the last one simply because of Garnet's passing whim. Silver didn't answer immediately, and it was obvious that Kate had interpreted his silence. Still, she waited for him to answer her.

"Not likely." Silver said quietly. Kate frowned. She slowly raised her paw off the ground, balled it up into a fist, and slugged him across the cheek. Everyone gasped at the bad smack that echoed throughout the den area. It didn't really hurt, but the shock of Kate's actions hit Silver harder. His eyes widened and he looked at her. The corners of Kate's eyes were already starting to water, but she still kept her hard expression.

" 'Not likely'? I don't want to hear that from you. You think that your life doesn't mean anything—that I would just take the loss of someone in my pack so casually?" Kate turned away, "If you die, I won't forgive you."

"Kate…" Silver looked upon his pack's alpha with all new respect. It didn't matter—no, it never mattered—what he was to her. She would always see Silver as a part of her pack; her family.

"He'll be okay. We'll make sure of it." Arin stepped up.

"Arin, this is going to be too dangerous for you to come."

"Why? So you can hog all the glory for yourself?" Arin crawled onto his back. "I don't think so. Besides—" He grabbed Silver's ear and whispered into it, "I sorta, kinda stretched the truth to some of the pups and have to try and save face."

"Stretched? Try flat-out lied." Bianca hopped onto Silver's head. She gave him a swift slap of her wing, frowning. "Stupid, thinking you can just leave just like that. You're the one got me tagging along to begin with and you think you can ditch me?"

"…" Silver's gaze had turned soft. He looked out to his pack, who were all nodding or smiling at him in support. The wave of earlier fear was now replaced with something else. Something that pulled everyone's bond to Silver in a coach of confidence for the wolf they had known since he was a pup. Love. Bravery. Confidence. The three radiated like beacons in the darkness, and it made Silver feel like this time, maybe—just maybe—things between him and Garnet would turn out different.

"If anyone can bring my baby back, it's you..." Lily said gently.

"I believe in you, Silver. I want you to find the ones who kidnapped my granddaughter, lift their tails, and snatch them up by the ba—"

"Mother…" Garth pressed the ears of his pups down as he cut Eve off. She scoffed as though it were no big deal.

"Silver." Humphrey grinned, "Give them hell."

The entire den was suddenly a cannon of encouragement. Everyone was calling his name, wishing him luck, or resolving to stating violent innuendos as to not badly influence the pups. Silver felt so uplifted. It was as though their emotions were flowing directly inside of him, swelling up from the pit and slowly spreading to the tips of his toes. He could once again feel himself sinking into his power. But this time, it wasn't the usual drowning in upon himself he usually felt. No, this was light, warm and comforting, wrapping around him like a blanket. Silver's wings slowly spread from his back, not black as the night, but white like the first snowfall. They flexed, a light sheen of pure feathers flecking the ground.

"Silver," Kate nodded to the young wolf. "You will come back to us. I forbid you to die."

"I understand." Silver nodded back to her. He clasped Snow's bracelet around his wrist and darted off. As his paws barely touched the ground at god-like speed, Kate watched his direction even after he had completely vanished.

"Come back alive…"

-()()()()()()()()()()()()()-

It had taken a while before consciousness had finally returned to Snow, but when it did, it came at her like a beast. The back of her head was throbbing and she swore when she felt a lump beneath her headfur. She couldn't quite recap the events prior fully. The memories came back to her in unordered fragments. She knew that there was a rush of heat on the back of her head, her body hitting the ground, and then darkness. Snow groaned. At first, her eyes refused to focus the blurred world around her. But as she adjusted, her other senses began to wake. The floor was cold and hard. Was it marble? Or alabaster? She couldn't tell, but the bleached white of the substance was used to structure the entire vast room she was now laying in. the room was more like a grand hall with towering pillars supporting the high, arching ceiling. Cords of vines littered with flowers Snow had never seen before spun around every pillar and crept along the floor. Fragments of sunlight poked through the high-raised windows like dazzling spotlights on the floor and grand archways were carved out of the walls.

"Good morning." A voice, so terribly familiar, caught Snow's ears. Her head snapped up towards the north wall. A grand staircase climbed up to a throne sitting on a high point of the wall. The wolf was laying casually in the seat with his chest, arms, and head leaning off one side of the chair arm. The form—that midnight-colored fur—was uncanny. Snow found herself slowly raising to her feet, and his name rolled off her tongue.

"Silver…" At first, she felt her heart leap hard in her chest. But all too quickly, images of Luna on top of Silver, her nose pressed against his, flashed like lightning in her head. Her ears fell to the side and she sighed. The wolf, who had been gazing at the sunlight peaking through the high windows, slowly turned his head to her. Upon quick realization, Snow could see that this was not Silver. The tips of the wolf's headfur and paws were burned red, and his white muzzle had a long scar across the top. But it was his eyes that really stood out. His garnet optics were not silver like the moon, but an almost horribly blackened crimson. They were seemingly calm, but Snow could see a wild animosity behind them.

"Sorry to disappoint you." The wolf said simply.

Snow's ears slowly perked up. She knew who he was. She had heard his name enough to know. Her mouth once again spoke involuntarily.

"Garnet…"

The wolf slowly rose to his feet and made his way down the long hill of stairs. Something in Snow's body screamed for her to be in fear of the on-coming wolf. But she didn't move. Snow watched as Garnet walked before her, calmly observing and circling her until he had gotten his full of looking at her.

"You are beautiful. I think I'm a touch jealous." He said softly. He reached up and took careful hold of Snow's muzzle. His garnet eyes searched hers, as if he were looking into her soul. "Kind. Very strong-willed if not stubborn. Loving—compassionate, I should say. But...there's also a strong yearning, like a bird, to be free. Your eyes are so clear. It's no wonder he loves you so much." Garnet's paw was very warm, almost comfortable. Snow had trouble willing herself away, but finally managed to pull her muzzle back defiantly.

"He…" She started to say, "He doesn't…"

"He does." Garnet answered for her. "That silly little girl. The only reason I allowed her to carry on and force herself on him was that it was the only way to get you alone."

"You wanted me alone?" Snow blinked, but there was no hiding the slight elation on her face. Could it be possible that it really was a mistake? A misunderstanding? Even more so, why did Garnet seem so positive?

"Would you have left his side any other way?"

"No…" Snow sucked her fangs. She swore to herself; she should be angry and fearful, not answering his questions. This was the wolf of whom spelled danger for Silver; the one who could potentially take him away from her forever. Instead, she tried to trade her elated look for one of stern seriousness.

"Why are you trying to kill Silver? Is getting your power back so important that you have to try and end his life? He's your brother—no, he's a part of you—don't you have any concern at all?" Snow exclaimed, "All he wants to do is live his life. What do you have against that?"

Garnet did not answer her right away. Instead, he calmly turned from her and started off across the marble floor.

"Come, Snow." His voice sang soft. There was something about him that made him seem unthreatening. Snow tried hard to perceive some tiny notion of danger, but failed. So instead, she made her way after him. Their paws made light rapping sounds against the floor that echoed over the emptiness of the majestic, but otherwise plain room. Garnet lead Snow out of one of the archways in the wall and she found herself gasping. Outside, beyond the marble room, was a very beautiful garden. Flowers much more vibrant that the ones inside grew wild along the brick-beaten paths. Shrubs and trees arched in whimsical shapes that took Snow's breath away, and a makeshift vein of streams snaked along the ground.

"Wow…" Snow gasped again. Garnet retrieved a small watering pail from behind a potted plant and watered a bush coming into full bloom with white-petal flowers.

"I like beautiful things, Snow." He said, "This world is full of many beautiful things…" he set the pail down and picked two of the white flowers. Even from a distance, Snow could smell how heavenly they were. Garnet placed one behind her ear, and cradled the other in his paw. "Oh, how grand would it be if the entire world was covered in beautiful things…but there is a balance. The balance ensures that there is an equal amount of ugliness to compensate for the lovely. A flower is beautiful in bloom. But after a while—" He slowly closed his paw around the flower. Snow's nose twitched at a strong burning scent, and when Garnet opened his paw, a soft breeze took the ash of the flower spiraling into the wind.

"The flower soon becomes something ugly…because the balance of this world is pre-determined. I want to rewrite the world for myself; preserve the beauty by my own standards. And that is why I have to kill Silver. Because without my full power, the forces protecting this world will forever be an ignorant hindrance to me." He turned to her. "And you will help me."

"What?" Snow blinked. Garnet once again reached out and placed a paw on her cheek.

"You are the key to all this. You will help me have what I want. Understand?" And then his touch was rough, on fire—not at all like the way he had touched her before. His pads felt like they were going to burn through her cheeks and she whimpered, wincing away from him sharply. Though her fur wasn't burned, smoke drifted from both her cheek and his paw. The earlier safety that Snow had felt quickly shattered, and now—as he looked at her with calm, but very dangerous eyes—the fear was making her heart race.

"No, never!" And before she knew it, she was tearing across the garden as fast as she possibly could. Her paws splashed through the veins of water and upturned any plant she may have run over. The only thing her brain would allow her to do was run. She couldn't explain the late rush of fear that hit her; something about his calm attitude made her tremble, as though he was always a hundred percent in control. Left, then right, then left again. Snow turned—until she suddenly came to a screeching halt. The snowy white wolf nearly fainted as she found herself teetering over the edge of what now looked like an island the garden was on. The vibrant verdure of green turned into an icy tundra that stretched miles and miles below into an abyss of darkness. A cold, dry wind snatched the flower right out of Snow's ear and dragged it down into the bottomless beyond.

"You've already had a hand in this, Snow."

Snow whipped around. Garnet walked towards her very carefully. The wind blew his headfur wildly over his handsome face and he stopped just a few feet away from her.

"Just you being here has already sealed Silver's fate. He loves you so much, he will come for you without fail. He will fight me for you, and he will die."

"Silver's not weak!" Snow exclaimed.

"But he does have a weakness, and that should be painfully obvious. You are his greatest downfall; a love he should have never had. And through you, all things will come to fruition with my plan. After all, who knows better than you what lengths Silver will go for you?"

Snow covered her mouth with her paw. Sickening realization made her stomach churn. She knew that Silver would stop at nothing—sacrifice anything—to ensure her safety. Her ears would have drooped, but the wind was blowing them around like crazy with her headfur. Garnet took a step closer.

"Don't despair, Snow. Join with me." He held out his paw. "Together, we can make a world of beautiful things. The balance will be ours to shape and no one would be able to stop us. You would be a queen at my side, exalted over all those beneath our whim."

"You're crazy!" Snow shouted, and almost backed off the edge. And then, an idea crept into her head. It was crazy. It was messy. It was desperate. "I'll jump!"

"Will you, now?" Garnet asked.

""Y-yes! I'll jump and then Silver will…" Her voice caught, "have nothing to protect…" Garnet didn't say a word. Instead, he casually reached out and pushed her. Snow shrieked, feeling gravity grab at her body like a greedy pair of hands. But she had barely gone completely over the edge when her fall was cut short. Flames, long and wispy, wrapped around her. They did not burn her, though they felt incredibly warm as they slowly pulled her from the edge.

"Snow, you're bartering with no chips to your name." Garnet said to her. The flames were coming from his back, and the more he reeled her in, the more they started to resemble wings. Once Snow was close enough, he pinned her down strongly with a single paw. She tired to budge, but his pin was like iron. Strong, warm iron. Garnet leaned down close, so that his muzzle was level with hers. Strands of his headfur tickled her forehead and Snow felt overpowered in every aspect.

"Like I said, you are a part of this whether you like it or not."

"Silver—"

Snow's breath was suddenly cut off. Garnet's strong paws took hold of her cheeks and his mouth was crushing down against hers. At first, his lips were as warm as hers, but quickly began heating up more and more. His tongue parted her mouth and she could feel a furnace-like breath tickling her fangs. The heat spread, at first at her muzzle, then quickly descending down her body to the tips of her toes. She tried to squirm; tried to kick wildly, but Garnet's body held her an unwilling prisoner beneath. The heat coursed throughout her limbs and blood, until she felt as though she were literally on fire. Snow's back arched and her body spasmed in searing, ungodly pain. She closed her eyes tight; the wild strength to resist she once had was slowly being drained, until she had slowed to a stop. The fire soared through her body and she could feel something being burned into her shoulder: A mark of flames. She had been marked and that concept whirled in her head like wildfire. He lingered for a while, but when Garnet broke the kiss, Snow slumped on the ground. The heat quickly vanished, but left her body feeling violated.

"And now…" Garnet whispered, "Nothing will stop me." He removed himself away from her and walked off, leaving her to lay crumpled on the now freezing cold ground. Snow's lip quivered and tears started to spill from her eyes. Now, she was truly and wholly Silver's weakness.

"…I'm sorry…"

-())()()()()()()()()()()()-

**_To be honest, I was having trouble keeping my emotions in check when I was finishing up this last chapter. It's always fun to create villains who have a sense of justice in what they do, and Garnet is definitely one of them. Things are about to get really sticky for Silver, especially now that Snow is playing for Team Garnet. The next chapter is half-written, but it may not be out for a week or two, but still look forward to it, everyone! Thank you_**


	9. A Fate Worse Than Death

**_How's it going, everyone? Wow, this story has really gotten along further than I ever thought it could. Sadly, it's almost the end. I've written Silver Snow completely up to the last chapter. But don't fret! The prequel will be coming late after the finish of this story, so look forward to it (Which will be aptly named "Silver Snow: Candice of Memory" unless I change it later)! Oh, and I guess I should take this time to announce I'll finally be trying to publish my own book in the distant future. I've been playing around with the idea and I think I'm finally going to go for it, so maybe in a few years, I'll have something on the shelf. Anyway, enjoy the next chapter, everyone!_**

_**Chapter 7: A Fate Larger Than Death**_

Silver panted hard, not really out of feeling winded, but more so from a rabid sense of anxiety. Even though he was running like hell, the sun was slowly beginning to creep over the horizon like rays of forlorn hope. His powerful leg muscles literally propelled him to race the sunrise, but also made for a very uncomfortable ride for Arin and Bianca. The bird and otter clung for dear life to Silver's fur. Every literal gallop of the midnight wolf could have easily been equated to a bucking bull, and in time, they found their rumps starting to numb.

"W-whoa, Silver! My butt's starting to feel like Bianca's been kicking on it again." Arin stated.

"Oh trust me, you'd _know_ that pain." Bianca chirped as she dug her talons and wings into Silver's fur.

"Charming, Birdy. What I mean is can we slow down just a little?"

"You know we can't." Silver gave quick, darting bounces amongst overgrown tree roots, and then a mighty leap over a ravine that should have been impossible for anyone to jump. But at this point, everyone's perspective of the possible and the not was a jumbled mess. "Koda gave me until sunrise to get to Snow and it's already daybreak."

Arin took the opportunity to gaze around. There was something strikingly familiar about the land they were tearing through. Lush waterfalls spilled over gargantuan cliffs as far as the eye could see, and in the lower valley below, pools of fresh water converged like rippling gems in the sunlight. Arin winced at how close he knew the territory of his former tribe was to them. Memories of his cannibalistic family chasing them through the falls haunted him and he tugged on Silver's fur.

"Silver, do you even know where we're headed?"

"Yes," Silver stated, "The Sacred Bastion."

The area had become painstakingly familiar for Bianca too, and when she accidentally let go to stare, it was Arin who reached out and grasped her wing. The land's verdure only lasted for a fleeting moment and they were suddenly trailing through the dead, ashen forest that used to be Silver's home. Swirls of ashy debris gathered in billowing clouds, but the midnight wolf was moving way too fast for them to catch up to them.

"The Sacred Bastion is an old structural ruin that was built along the mountainsides near my old village." Silver continued to explain, "We think humans built it and then abandoned it a long time ago, but we aren't sure—humans pretty much isolate themselves from this area."

"So even someone as old as you doesn't know?" Arin asked.

"Whenever I'm reborn, it's always in a different place—I couldn't possibly have been here before the last time it happened." Silver answered, "But it makes sense. What better place to house an army of subjugate wolves than in a vast, isolate fortress up in the mountains?"

"Which is weird."

"Weird how?"

"Silver, you said that when he found you, Garnet left you for dead. And yet, he chose to set up base in a place so close to your home—how could he not notice you weren't dead? Couldn't he have killed you right then? Followed you to Jasper Park, even?"

Silver's ears perked up. Bianca had asked a good question. If he had been that close, Garnet would have surely known Silver wasn't dead and could've caught up easily. And yet, he let him live; let him grow up before showing himself again. But Silver shook his head; the sun was halfway up , time was ticking, and his focus was crucial.

"We'll figure it out later—right now, we have to focus on saving Snow." And with a sudden burst of already supernatural speed, Silver soared through the rotting trees of the forest. It hadn't taken long before the burned, charred land of his village faded away to uneven, rocky earth of the foothills nearing the mountainside. The rocky cliffs were easy enough to scale (albeit Arin and Bianca screaming for dear life when it seemed they would go flying off of Silver's back) and Silver made his way onto the mountain face. Even though the sun was starting to blare, the drop in temperature and the blankets of snow chilled the three to the bone. Silver made a thick trail through the frozen white as though it were nothing. Before long, as the sun peaked over the horizon, Silver, Bianca, and Arin could see it over the snow-bound hill. The structure was a magical creation of ice and rock intertwining within the face of the mountain. Grand pillars lined the sides of the courtyard, some still standing tall, others so dilapidated that they had toppled over. A grand stair case lead out of the snow up to two massive twin doors, and the stair cases to the side lead to doors further up into the frozen buttresses and wings of the ruins.

"Wow…." Was all Bianca and Arin could say as the three of them watched the sunlight dazzle the structure in shimmering light. Silver bit his lower lip. There was nothing inviting about the Sacred Bastion's beauty. To him, it was like someone calling him to lay in what could potentially be his own grave. Still, there was no use in pondering it. The time was now and all roads lead to here. Silver slowly made his way down the hill with Arin and Bianca following after him. Their paws (and talons) made loud crunches in the fresh snow as they stepped into the courtyard. He stopped in the middle, his wings disappearing. Silence, cold and dark, wrapped around the area horribly and Arin could feel the fur on his back stand on end. There was no sign of life at all, and Silver took it upon himself to make their presence known.

"I'm here!" Silver's voice echoed in multiple octaves before the cold wind snatched it up. At first, nothing happened. The three friends let their eyes dart around the snow-covered area. The silence was so thick that it was sickening to their stomachs. And then slowly, quietly, the first burn-furred wolf stepped from the shadows of a fallen pillar. Her lips were curled back, showing her fangs, and she was emitting a growl almost too low to hear. Another wolf appeared high atop one of the landings leading to the main door. Wolf after wolf converged out of every corner and every shadow until Silver, Arin, and Bianca were facing down a whole battalion of subjugated foes. Silver's frown was stern but also spoke that he wouldn't tolerate having to deal with the small potatoes if they stood in his way. He felt Arin and Bianca trembling slightly on his back and calmed them with a pat of his tail.

"Silver," Koda's form suddenly appeared on the highest landing in a flicker of flames. The passive wolf glanced casually to the rising sunrise, then only let his eyes shift back to Silver without turning his head. "Cutting it somewhat close, I'd say."

"No more games!" Silver stomped his paw on the ground. Every second they wasted made his anxiety rise to a boil. He had to see Snow—know that she was alright above anything else. "Where is she? Where's Snow?"

Koda grimaced just enough to show his annoyance for a hot second. Still, he reluctantly obliged to incline his paw upwards to the sky; upwards to the towering wings of the bastion that seemed to never end into the sky.

"As promised, she's here."

"Good," Silver started forward, but had only gotten a few steps ahead before one of the wolves stood in his way. He barred his fangs at Silver and didn't flinch when Silver's glare transfixed on him.

"Silver, you're more than welcome to come in after Snow." Koda brandished his paw to one of the side staircases leading to the only door that wasn't too collapsed to walk through. "And you're more than welcome to walk to your fate, however, you are the only one who may enter here. I forbid you to bring trash into our Sacred Bastion."

"Trash?" Bianca's feathers ruffled the moment Koda looked at her. She jumped down and started forward, fist raised and rage trumping her fear. "I've got a word that rhymes with trash and I'm not afraid to kick yours!"

"Easy, girl." Arin grasped Bianca's tail feathers and slid her behind him. Bianca pecked his paw a bit harshly and glared at the wolves who were eyeing her, namely Koda.

"Charming." Koda said.

"What is up with everyone saying that?"

"Bianca," Silver put his leg in front of her, hid her from view, and shook his head at Koda. He knew perfectly well what would happen the moment he let Arin and Bianca alone. He wasn't stupid enough to ignore the hungry growls and intense stares of the drooling wolves around him. "No deal, Koda."

"You can debate it, Silver." Koda said matter-of-factly. "But I wonder…is it really worth the time? " At this, all of the wolves edged forward, growling, ready to spring on the attack at any moment. Silver swore, torn between rescuing Snow faster, or ultimately leaving his two friends at the paws of lord-knows-how-many snarling wolves.

"It's alight, Silver." Arin said, stepping in front of Silver. He brushed his finger across his cheek and grinned—a fool's grin full of bravado. "You go ahead and go. We've got this."

"But Arin—"

"Haven't you wasted enough time?" Bianca moved from under Silver, "Or have you forgotten that Snow still needs you?"

"Go on ahead Silver—I'll take care of Bianca."

"Ha! This coming from the otter who's butt I've kicked enough times to own." Bianca grinned at the wolves, hoping her own puffed-up self would keep them at bay.

"…" Silver clenched a pawful of snow out of frustration. They were right and he had no choice. A solemn wind blew across his face; whipped his headfur wildly as he gazed up the twisting staircase to the bastion's only open door. He sucked his fangs and reluctantly moved forward. "Arin, Bianca…don't die on me." And with that, Silver rushed off up the stairs and through the doorway. Arin and Bianca huddled closer to each other. Sure, it had been easy to talk big—give the grand heroic sendoff to Silver as they held down the fort. But now, standing amidst the icy wind and snow, facing off against more steely-eyed wolves than they could possibly count, the two had begun to realized just how badly the odds weren't in their favor.

"Do whatever you want." Koda said simply. Arin staggered when a wolf suddenly plopped down in the snow before him. One by one, the wolves started to move, nearing their prey in all directions. Their mouths drooled with hunger; their eyes transfixed like a sniper's sights; and deep, dark growls rumbled from their throats.

"Shall we run now?"

"No, I think we should sit and see if the drool on their mouths freeze over. Of course let's run!" Bianca tweeted and bolted through the air like a feathery blue rocket. Arin slid in his scramble up, but the moment he was on his feet, he tore through the snow as fast as he could. The wolves were already on them, snapping so wildly at Bianca that she could barely fly high enough to get out of their range. Arin swerved and slid, narrowly escaping the powerful jaws that could have easily snapped his neck, all the while trying to catch up to Bianca. The two pulled head by mere inches. The battalion of wolves let out murderous howls, becoming a trail of red and yellow that streaked across the courtyard and out onto the mountain trail. Snow flew in wild chunks in Arin's face and his toes were already starting to get numb—winter weather was not something either him or Bianca enjoyed in the slightest.

"Arin, don't run in a straight line, you idiot!" Bianca chirped down to him as they began to pull away just a bit more.

"I-I know that!" Arin dropped down on all fours and started snaking his way through the snow. It was a lot worse, having chunks of frozen mush slapping his cheeks till they were red. But it did manage to create space between him and their rabid attackers. "B-Bianca!"

"What?"

"I-if we don't make it, there's something I have to tell you."

"Spit it out!" Bianca said.

"I think I love you."

Bianca's left eye twitched. She suddenly dropped down from the sky like a bullet and crashed down into Arin. She chirped as she mercilessly pecked and kicked the otter so wildly that he was rolling and tumbling like a ball in the snow.

"Ow-ow! H-hey, Bianca!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Sit there and die in the snow!" Bianca's cheeks were lit up a bright shade of red as she pummeled Arin harsh enough to bury him into a pit in the snow. She rubbed them desperately, dropping her foot repeatedly on Arin's head when she couldn't stop the color.

"Bianca!" Arin grabbed her cheeks and tugged on them. She squawked and grasped his own, pulling even harder till both of their faces look distorted. But the sound of beating feet had come up quicker than they had thought, and the group of wolves were converging on them once again. They snarled loudly, obviously unappreciative of the chase they were forced to give. There were so many of them; droves of hungry wolves all waiting to fight over every scrap of the bird and otter.

"Oh crap…" Arin sighed.

-()()()())()()()()()()()()()()()()()()(-

It was always like that; a house on the outside was always something much bigger on the inside. Was he even going the right way? Silver sucked air through his fangs as he darted across the blackened stone floor of the Sacred Bastion. It was surprisingly warm inside. Pillars and statues of some ambiguous figure were either littered or toppled in a vast disarray among the dimly lit rooms and corridors. Steps were cracked and broken; debris was strew all over the floor, and an eerie icy blue glow only came from the sun poking through fragments of ice. But the place was so huge, with winding corridors leading to vast dead-end rooms; large hallways trailing into a collection of recently used dens; clusters of more areas than even seemed necessary, that Silver found panic once again. What room would Snow be in? Which way was the right way? The midnight wolf rubbed his paw through his headfur until it was a mess.

"Waugghhh!' He barked in frustration. Silver ran forward once again, passing through random doorways and praying he wasn't going in the wrong direction. True, he had known of the Sacred Bastion, but it never crossed his interest to ever explore it when he was a pup. And now, he was paying for it. After a while, Silver slowed to a stop upon passing through another doorway. This particular room was much different from the others. It was completely barren—just empty space with two stairways on either sides of the wall. The stairs converged high up to the landing on the north wall, leading to yet another door. And then, there were footsteps. Low, distant steps shattering the silence from beyond the doorway, coming closer and closer. Silver braced himself.

"So, we meet again, you face-ruining dog." The wily wolf slowly emerged onto the landing. This time, his expression wasn't hard to read, not at all full of confidence as before. He looked positively livid. "If you thought you could just barge into our house unchallenged, you'd better think again."

"I was invited—"

"Be quiet, you perfection-sadist!" The wolf barked. He slowly reached his paw to his neck. His finger ran along the scar line that now marred his neck. "You don't deserve to see Lord Garnet. You, who ruins great beauty, doesn't even deserve to live."

"Get over yourself." Silver sighed, having had enough. He made his way towards one of the stairways.

"Cocky bastard." The wily wolf glared. "Let's see how mighty you'll be after you see this." He glanced back beyond the entrance. Another echo of footsteps filled the room and Silver couldn't tell which was worse: the evil grin on the wily wolf's face, or the thought of an additional wolf coming to serve as another obstacle. As the footsteps got closer and closer, Silver tensed himself for battle.

Only to have his jaw drop in shock. She slowly stepped out amongst the landing, her head hanging low. The icy blue light of the room melted onto her black and gray fur, but more so onto the flame insignia burned onto her shoulder. Anna didn't look at Silver directly. As happy as she was to see him alive, shame kept her muzzle aimed at the ground.

"Mo…Mother…" Silver's voice cracked, "…you sick bastard! That's my mom!" Rage threw Silver up the stairs at an impossible speed. His claws were posed for the kill and he lashed out at the wolf—only to have his claws stop just inches from his neck. Silver's body seized with a forced tension when he saw that the wolf's claws were aimed at Anna's neck. His body trembled; screamed to tear the wolf limb from limb. But even the slightest movement would give his grinning foe the just opportunity to slice his mother's neck like butter.

"Oho…not so mighty now, are you?"

Silver answered with a deadly glare. The wily wolf raised his other paw and carefully moved Silver's to the side. His fingers sparked before igniting in a roar of flames of which Silver could easily feel the heat from. And then, the wily wolf's fist was crashing into Silver's cheek, paining his flesh with blazing heat, and sending the midnight wolf sprawling back on the vast, empty floor.

"Silver!" Anna gasped. The wily wolf let out a laugh—a rolling laughter that started out simple, but escalated to something maniacal. His pupils shrank in amusement, his voice filling the emptiness of the room as he sneered down at Silver.

"How does it feel when your own pretty face is struck, huh! How does it feel, you mutt?" The wolf exclaimed. Silver rose to his feet and spat blood from biting his tongue. A cut appeared across his cheek and stung him like tons of tiny burning needles, but his focus was more on the intense glare he was giving the wolf; the intense hatred he felt for his enemies once again using his family as leverage. The wily wolf placed his paws on Anna's shoulder, who winced.

"Do you like the gift I was given? Oh how delicious it was when I found out that our latest addition was your very own mother." He said.

"Let her go." Silver snarled.

"Ha! Let her go? Why when we're about to have so much fun?" The wily wolf dug his claws into Anna's shoulders, ignoring her whimper of pain (and Silver's growl). "I swore I'd get back at you; been waiting to get you alone so I could have my chance. I'm sorry, but this room is going to be your grave. I don't care what Lord Garnet said—" The wolf's eye twitched and his face was suddenly overwhelmed with sadistic excitement, "I'm going to enjoy clawing off that pretty face of yours!" And then he sprang, his claws outstretched and his grin as wide as his cheeks could possibly allow. Silver gasped and leapt back; the room shook and a deep crater now formed where the wily wolf had punched the ground. He swore and sprinted at Silver. His paws became ablaze with flames as he lashed and snapped at Silver with all the ferocity of a wolf gone mad. Swirls of windy energy billowed off of Silver's paws and the two of them danced wildly along the floor. Loud cracks filled the room every time their paws clashed or connected. Silver felt himself being forced back. It was as if the wolf was throwing absolutely everything he had at the midnight wolf; each blow flowed with reckless abandon and horrible force that he knew one solid hit would be dangerous. He had to end it now. Silver deftly dodged the wily wolf's natural weapons, waiting, watching. And then he seized it; his claw raised straight for the wolf's throat when a blow missed Silver's face. All he would need is one hit.

And then Silver's claw stopped just barely from Anna's throat. He gasped, having not seen her suddenly materialize in a flaming sprint between his charging claw and the wolf's throat.

"M-mother—"

"Wraaaa!" The wily wolf clamped his fangs deep onto Silver's shoulders and he tensed in sharp pain. Flames erupted from the foe's mouth and sent Silver rolling dramatically across the floor in several harsh thuds. The wily wolf took in a deep breath, and then forced another wave of roaring flames around Silver's body, tail wagging viciously. Silver's body ached and he groaned as he rose to his feet. The flames were nowhere near powerful enough to actually burn his supernaturally resilient fur, but the heat and pain shocked every nerve in his body. He closed his eyes and a violent wind erupted from around his body; it clawed the flames away and tore across the ground at break neck speed straight towards the laughing wily wolf. Anna struggled. Her body shook and trembled as she tried to resist the involuntary movements; tried to fight the urge to obey. But every time she fought, the weight on her will would become like dense lead, and she found herself becoming the wolf's shield once again.

"No!" Silver exclaimed, and the wind that was literally breaking the ground towards the wily wolf suddenly veered off to the sides and crashed into the walls. The wolf leapt at him, throwing his flaming paws at Silver like a madman so that they were at it once again. Though this time, whenever Silver found an opening, Anna would present herself, resulting in numerous cheap and painful blows from his attacker. But what could he do? Silver certainly could not—would not—bring himself to attack his own mother. His enemies had played him well, setting up hindrances in which they knew he full well could not avoid. He found himself calling out Anna's name; trying desperately to talk sense to her whenever he stopped her from torching him with flames rolling off her tongue. But he knew full well that it was all in vain. As long as she had Garnet's mark, she belonged to him. Tears rolled down Anna's face as her uncontrollable body threw her at her son, striking him where the wolf had missed; stopping him when he had a favorable chance to end the violence.

"Gotcha, you dog!" The wily wolf suddenly dropped down on Silver with such force that he surfed the sliding wolf across the floor until they collided into the wall. His paw pinned Silver down forcefully to the cold stone by the throat. The wily wolf's sadistic grin grew sharper, more expressive, like a crazy psychopath going in for the kill. He raised his other paw and pressed it so firm to Silver's cheek that the claw was digging into his skin.

"Silver…" Anna's voice cracked. She had never felt so helpless in her life. She thought that not being able to find Silver was the worse feeling in the world. But she was wrong. It was nothing compared to knowing she had a hand in her precious son's demise. Anna raised her paw slowly, as if to reach out to him, whimpering his name. Silver snarled underneath the wily wolf. He could have torn him limb from limb were he not dreading the next time Anna would chance to take the hit instead. The wolf slowly ran his claw along Silver's muzzle—then suddenly slashed the top hard enough to leave a gash. Silver howled in pain, blood rushing across the pure white fur of his muzzle form a cut that would definitely leave a scar. The wily wolf laughed giddily.

"What fun! Oh, how fun it is to ruin this pretty face of yours. What should I ruin next? Your ear? Your nose?" And then, the wolf's expression turned terribly dark. He slowly raised his paw over Silver's head. His fingers once again became alit with flames. "Or maybe I'll gouge those pretty silver eyes of yours out…" Silver clenched his fangs and swore in his head. He couldn't do anything! He couldn't fight back; he couldn't run; he could only sit there, tasting salty blood running from his muzzle, watching the crazy wily wolf drop his paw towards him.

"Stop it!"

_BAM_! There was a loud thudding against the wall, quickly followed by tussling sounds on the floor next to Silver. The midnight wolf gasped and quickly rolled up to his feet. Anna rolled across the ground with the wolf, struggling to try and overpower him while keeping a hold on her own sanity. Both of them were spitting flames like blazing flowers dancing across the stone floor.

"S-Silver! You have to kill him now!" Anna whimpered when her shoulder became caught in the wolf's fangs. She slammed her paw into his neck. "Finish him quickly, son!"

"But…" Silver hesitated. There was no way he could openly attack the wolf while she was that close to him. Even if he tried to be precise, their tumbling and wrestling could bring Anna easily in the way. She was strong, yes. Strong enough to resist the wolf's command, but only because it was not him who she was ultimately loyal to. She was not, however, strong enough to take a direct hit. He shook his head slowly. "I…I can't…"

"Yes you can! You have to!" Anna shouted.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" The wily wolf struck Anna harshly. "I am your commander! Get off of me, woman!"

"S-Silver, do it now!" Anna raised her paw, and then brought it down as hard as she possibly could. Her claws raked across the wily wolf's face and silence quickly fell within the room. His eyes widened in horror and disbelief at the mother wolf who had him pinned under her. His paw slowly reached up to his face; his fingertips grazed the lines of blood that now marked his face. A tremble of shock racked his body, so much so that Anna could feel it beneath her.

"You…you wench!" The wily wolf slapped Anna harshly, sending the older wolf reeling into the wall. The moment she hit the ground, he was on top of her. His paws clasped around her neck tight, not even budging when she tried to pull them off. "LOOK AT ME!" He roared through her coughs and sputters. "YOU OLD HAG! LOOK AT ME! I'LL KILL YOU!" His claws dug into Anna's neck and she whimpered loudly, warm blood trailing down her shoulders. The world spun and her lungs begged for oxygen in vain. Her grip on his paws were starting to slacken and she muttered her son's name.

"S-Silver…"

"I WANT YOU TO D—" The realization came way too late for his own good. The wily wolf's head turned in what seemed to him like slow motion. The wind had come careening from Silver's direction so fast that all he could do was watch. The gale made a sickening slicing sound as it passed both him and Anna, crashing into the wall behind him and leaving a dreadful sea of cracks and gashes along it's face. At first, nothing happened. The wily wolf stared at Silver with almost what looked like fear.

"…." And then, flecks of blood suddenly burst off the wolf's body from cuts unseen on his skin. He made a loud gasp, his pupils shrinking down to the size of a pea. His body teetered, then slowly fell to the ground with a horrible thunk. He lay there next to Anna, a puddle of crimson forming still form cuts that never appeared on his body. And Silver knew they never would. The energy was special; a wind that delivered cuts on the inside that would never show outside the victim's body.

"Uhhhh!" Anna gasped for air, coughing and writing on the floor.

"Mother!" Silver's serious resolve shattered and he flung himself over to his mother's side. He curled up around her and leaned her against his body. Blood rolled down from cuts in her neck—and from cuts unseen in her forepaws. Silver's ears lowered at the punch of guilt. "Oh mother…"

"D-don't look at me like that. I'm still alive." Anna coughed, but it was obvious pain was hammering nails into every nerve ending she had.

"But why, mother…?" Silver's eyes trembled sadly.

"Because I finally found my baby boy. I couldn't let him take you away from me. You're the only son I have…" Anna said to him. Silver sighed and shook his head. If Anna had it her way she would have died for him, and he couldn't have that. It was a long shot, but he had to get her out of the bastion, or at least find a safe place to hide her.

"You can leave her to me." A voice answered Silver's unasked question. The midnight wolf and Anna snapped their heads up. The female wolf was unmistakable as she slowly walked into the room. Ophelia looked dead at Silver, only stopping once she was in front of the wily wolf. She looked down at the dead canine, not with pity, but maybe amusement.

"Stupid idiot. Ein was told not to attack you and look what happens—he gets himself carved like a damn turkey." She said. Silver let out a dangerous snarl. Of course another enemy would come as soon as the first was down. He stood before Anna protectively, who stayed laying on the floor.

Ophelia held her paws up in surrender. "Whoa, there, puppy. I don't fight—don't like to get my paws dirty."

"Leave!" Silver barked. Ophelia looked offended.

"Honestly, I came down here to help and you thank me like this?"

"Liar!"

"If I'm a liar, then here." At first, the movement put Silver on edge. Ophelia carefully and slowly nuzzled her head under his paw until Silver could feel the tips of his claws pressing her neck. She closed her eyes, "You can kill me now. All it'd take is a push from you."

Silver wretched. The thought of him killing the willing was sickening, and the innocent look on Ophelia's face was pissing him off. He raised his paw away. She smiled.

"Thank you. Now watch." Ophelia walked over to Anna. She tried to ignore Silver's glare, tried to ignore how readily he would end her if she did anything malicious.

"What are you doing?"

"Just stay calm." Ophelia felt Anna wince as the tips of her claws burned red. She slowly traced over Anna's skin, burning the fur, but effectively closing the wounds. She then took up Anna's forepaws and looked them over. Ophelia shook her head when Anna had no reaction to her claws digging into the flesh.

"Oh yeah, these paws are shot. You'll probably never use them again, and if you are lucky enough to do so, it still won't be the same. But it's a small price to pay for your life, I suppose."

"…" Silver closed his eyes. Terrific. He had hurt yet another loved one.

"It's okay, Silver." Anna smiled sweetly at him, but it didn't really work. Ophelia left Ana's side and walked over to Silver. She forcefully grabbed his muzzle (gaining a snap from him) and started heat-sealing the cut on his muzzle. With the blood gone, his pure white fur was now marred with a pink scar. "You cut this very close. You aren't convicted enough to kill Lord Garnet if you keep holding back like that."

"Shut up. You don't know—"

"What, that your mother was in the way? I saw, Silver. You think Lord Garnet is going to take it easy on you like that? You think he's going to make sure the keys to controlling you are out of sight?" Ophelia exclaimed. Silver sucked his fangs. "Lord Garnet is merciless and calculating—something you should already know. Fighting him is like throwing yourself at him with all you've got. Can you do that?"

"I have to. I have to so I can save Snow." Silver said.

"And if he puts Snow in danger like your mother was?" Ophelia looked at him. Silver glared, but the realization did hit him. No, it was always there, the thought of Garnet using Snow as a lure to fish him out. He would never bring himself to hurt Snow, even if it meant costing his life. He knew full well that he was probably going into a battle he was never destined to win. Still, as long as he could get Snow away safe…

"I will save her. I promised." Silver stated sternly. Ophelia looked at him, into his honest silver eyes. They burned with resolve—actual belief that he would find a way to rescue his beloved; belief that screamed he could do anything.

"And say you do. What of people like us?" Ophelia pointed to the flame insignia burned on Anna's shoulder. "Should you kill Lord Garnet, all those under his power will die as well. Are you prepared to do that?"

"Of course not!" Silver exclaimed.

"Then how will you save Snow if you don't kill Lord Garnet?"

"I'll figure it out."

"You know the answer."

"Look, I said—"

"Stop playing around the subject!" Ophelia stamped her paw loudly on the ground, effectively silencing Silver. He glared into her hard frown as she nonverbally pressed him to what he already knew. There was a way to do it; a way to kill Garnet and save his mother from suffering death as well. But the way was equally risky and against every moral muscle in his body. And to think that it would go so far for him to come to this. Silver turned his gaze to a quizzical-looking Anna.

"If she still has Garnet's mark, and you do kill him, she will share the same fate of death alongside him. However…" Ophelia said quietly, "Mark her yourself; make her life yours to own, and she will live…provided you don't die yourself."

Silver felt his claws digging into the cold stone and he felt as though the frown on his face would soon become permanent. If anything, he had wanted to avoid giving this fate to anyone; to take away someone's freedom and make them totally dependant on his own survival. And of all people, his poor mother…

Anna looked up to her son. She could easily see the tense feeling of reluctance making his body tremble with anger and confusion. Her eyes went soft, loving like a mother's eyes would always be for her child. It was difficult, but Anna slowly slid her body along the floor using her hind legs. The ground had already been cold enough to numb her stomach and when she had begun moving, needles of pain pricked it back to life. She stopped in front of Silver.

"Silver, it's alright…" Anna said.

"But—"

"I understand, and it's better this way. Silver, you coming to me as a pup was the happiest moment of my life. You're the son I could never have and I'll always love you. I couldn't bare the thought of you dying…but…" Anna looked down at her paws, "But…if anything did happen…at least I wouldn't be alone again."

"Mother…" Silver eyes trembled. She looked at him with such conviction in her words that it almost frightened him. But Ophelia was right. Anna's fate was no longer hers, and all he could do was try to make the best out of a bad situation. Silver slowly raised his paw and placed it to his mother's head. He still seemed very reluctant, but Anna closed her eyes, completely and utterly relaxed with full of faith in her son. Silver took a breath, and then it started. He felt his energy starting to pour form the tips of his fingers, at first in tiny bursts that gradually became pulsing waves of power being forced into Anna's body. She gasped sharply and a strong gale suddenly spiraled around her and Silver with them as the epicenter. Ophelia braced herself, the wind whipping around her fur wildly. Silver closed his eyes, and Anna suddenly let out an ear-splitting howl. He could feel the waves of his power clashing against a shield of Garnet's influence inside his mother's will. It fought back against him, her body rejecting Silver's own influence with such an animosity that Anna's claws had dug into the ground.

"Just hold on…" Silver mouthed to his mother. He focused harder, the waves of his power pounding and tearing at the hold his brother had over her. He made sure not to completely overwhelm her; not to send his power crashing so hard against the barrier of influence that the shock rendered poor Anna a lifeless heap on the ground. Instead, he focused on ebbing and flowing, like that of a wave across the ocean's surface.

And then, Silver felt the wall suddenly shatter. With no opposition, he felt his energy greedily flow into Anna, driving out any and all traces of Garnet's influence. Anna's ears shot up and she let out another loud, painful howl. The wind around them whipped so hard that Ophelia felt as though she would topple over. Flames escaped from Anna's body; they poured from her mouth; her nose; from the many cuts she had received from the attack her son had clipped her with; and even from the very air around her body. Anna's body burned on the inside even more intensely than when she had been marked. It was as though the flames were a cornered animal, savagely snapping at the invading force driving it out of her. The fire surged and spiraled above Silver and Anna like a billowing cloud of heat before slowly dispersing. Instead, a wispy, cerulean-tinted wind began to waft from Anna's body where the flames used to be. The once surging heat inside the older wolf's body died down. Once her howls of pain had ceased, and her back claws stopped trying to borrow into the cold stone floor, Anna felt a sense of cool relaxation come over her. Silver's power wasn't like Garnet's; when he had marked her, the flames were like a raging force that beat her will into submission. But Silver's—once not competing for control—was like a blanket that slowly enclosed itself around everything. The flame insignia on Anna's shoulder vanished. Instead, she felt the air tickling her left thigh, painlessly carving what looked like the wind taking the shape of a wispy, cloudy harp marking into her skin. Silver let his eyes open and took his paw from her head. The wind ceased immediately—and Anna slumped down into his lap.

"Sorry, Mom…" Silver whispered.

"Now me," Ophelia said. Silver looked at her skeptically, but she didn't budge.

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to die." Ophelia said. She walked over to him; made sure that she was able to press her head under his paw once again. "I'm tired of this, but if I have to be a part of it, then I'll play for what I think will be the winning side. For once, I'm going to decide at least one thing for myself."

Silver grimaced. Marking Anna was out of dire necessity. He had no desire to turn a second wolf. But Ophelia kept her head pressed firm under his paw even when he tried to move it. She looked up to him, her eyes pleading, yet strongly resolved that this was her honest choice. Silver sighed and closed his eyes. A roar of wind kicked up around them, but his power met with very little resistance. The barrier within Ophelia was flimsy and almost gave way immediately, painlessly, so very unlike the raging tug of war within Anna. Was it because she was used to being Garnet's subjugate for so long? Or did Garnet feel that she wasn't even worth having a tight grip on? Ophelia's flame insignia vanished and Silver's own mark appeared on her left thigh. She didn't faint like Anna, though she did stagger with a slight fatigue when she drew away. She gave her mark an almost admiring look, stretching her leg to see closer.

"Awww, yours is cute. I like it better."

"This isn't a game." Silver frowned.

"Of course not," Ophelia bowed her head, "Lord Silver."

"Don't do that. I'm not your master." Silver nudged Anna up, ignoring Ophelia's mocking giggle. He rolled the older female wolf onto his new subjugate's back. "Can I count on you to keep her safe, err…" Silver felt a rush of embarrassment maul his cheeks. He hadn't even asked for her name. Ophelia grinned slyly.

"So you decide to have your way with a girl before getting her name? I didn't know you were that kind of guy."

"Hey!"

"It's Ophelia. And yes, I will take care of your mother." Her mocking smile annoyed Silver, but as it stood, she was the only one he could count on to keep his mother safe. Ophelia nudged her head up in the direction of the landing high atop the wall. "It's a long way up to the top, but if you keep on the northernmost pathways, they'll take you where you want to be. I've never been in myself, but Garnet's hall is at the highest point."

"Right," Silver nodded and turned to run off.

"Silver," Ophelia damn near made him trip over his paws. She ignored it. "Do you know why I decided to join you?"

"Loyalty issues." Silver answered honestly.

"Because I have faith in you; because you're different. Garnet…a life is nothing to him. We were all expendable from day one. But if you survive, I know I won't be thrown away. And you also have Snow to protect…"

Silver's ears perked up. Ophelia's look had gone unnaturally soft—almost appreciative—for the first time since they've met. It wasn't at all like when she was waving Snow's bracelet in his face; he could tell that by the way she was looking at him, she truly believed in what she said. He smiled and nodded.

"Thanks,"

"Get going, She's waiting for you."

"Right," Silver turned off to sprint up the wrapping staircase towards the landing. Ophelia watched him until he vanished beyond the threshold. Slowly, a smile spread across her face.

-()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()—

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Arin had never been so cold in his life. His whole body rattled wildly as he slid down the cascading hill squarely on his rump until he felt it start to get numb from the snow. He clutched a screaming Bianca to his chest, trying desperately to toboggan as far away from the team of pursuing wolves behind them. The canines spat flames like bullets, sending chunks of snow flying in Arin's and Bianca's faces with every near miss, and making the two of them cling to each other for dear life.

"Bianca, are you oka—whoa!" Arin threw his head down just as a flyby flame darted over him.

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't ask me that. Can't you go any faster?" Bianca exclaimed.

Arin frowned, "Well excuse me for not having a jet engine installed in my tail!"

"You idiot! Move!" Bianca slid down to Arin's lap. She gripped his fur tight with one talon, then gave his foot a swift kick with the other; the otter's tail flopped in the snow hard enough for them to swerve, leaving a puzzled-looking Arin gazing stupidly at the extended muscle.

"Whoa, that was new. How'd you do that?"

"Nevermind that!" Bianca rapped her foot across Arin's. His tail flopped and twitched, until it was unnaturally beating against the ground. The two braced themselves as they suddenly lurched forward, bouncing and gaining momentum down the snow-covered hill. Slush battered the air behind them, slapped the wolves red in the face, and slowly pulled them away from the battalion behind. Arin's tail rattled like a motor with no control, and by the time they had seen it, he and Bianca were already being thrown off the steep edge of the hill. The cold, winter air sucked the screams right out of their mouths and Arin landed on top of Bianca in the thick snow with a loud plop.

"Auggh! Why am I always on the bottom?" Bianca shoved her foot into Arin's gut and rolled him off. She coughed and shook the snow that was already clinging to her wingtips. Arin looked at his tail, which was still twitching ever so slightly.

"That was weird. Should I get the nerves checked?"

"Stop being stupid, we have to keep running or they'll catch up." Bianca stated, trying to inch herself enough out of the deep snow to fly. Arin glanced around as he rolled up to his feet. They couldn't keep running, there was no doubt about that. The team of subjugated wolves were many and could afford getting tired out. So he desperately scanned the now flat landscape. Pine trees reached up high towards the sky, but awkwardly scattered to the point that they wouldn't provide much of a good hiding place. All except for one…

"Bianca, better idea." Arin grasped the blue-feathered bird and practically dragged her kicking and screaming towards a fallen tree. It was half-buried in the snow with limbs scattered about in an untouched heap. As he rounded it from the back, he found space—just enough for the two of them to wiggle under. The roaring wind would sweep their tracks and scent to the air, but just in case, Arin put his paw over Bianca's beak to keep her quiet. The silence around them hadn't stayed so for long; the rapid pounding of many wolven feet beat into the snow like crazy. They let out rabid snarls as they poked around the trees with their noses literally buried in the snow in their search for their pray. Arin felt his knees tremble. He was always led to think that a cornered animal would always become some wild force to deal with. But he felt nothing like that right now. He felt scared out of his wits, praying that they wouldn't notice them.

The wolves barked and circled the area. Once, twice, three times they loped over or past the fallen tree, making the bird and otter hold their breaths. After a while, with defeated growls and hungry stomachs, the wolves walked off beyond the trees. Arin and Bianca froze, unmoving for a long while. When Bianca could hold her breath no longer, she shoved Arin's paw away and gasped for air. Stinging cold filled her lungs with each dramatic breath she took and she had to roll over on her back. Arin leaned over his knees, panting. He hadn't realized just how tired he really was. He looked down to Bianca, who looked up at him. And then the two suddenly burst with laughter. Loud, stupid laughter that echoed in their little hiding place till it tickled their ears.

"H-How dumb can you get? They really had no idea we were in here!" Bianca exclaimed.

"I-if I had pants, I'd have peed them. I was so scared."

"Whaaghh! Arin, not in here!"

"I didn't actually do it!" Arin said when the small bird started treading the ground like hot coals. However, it wasn't long before the two of them were cracking up again.

"But…" Bianca giggled, but looked to Arin with a softness she had only shown him once before; the look that she had given him when she told him the reason why she ran away from home. "I have to admit you were kinda brave back there, making sure I kept up okay."

"Why Bianca, are you complimenting me?" Arin poked her and she ruffled her feathers.

"Arin, don't make me regret saying things—" It had happened fast, way too fast for her to react. Arin had lifted Bianca off the ground, drew her close, and practically smashed his mouth against her beak. The bird's body surged, feeling his maw fighting her, wrestling her like some wild animal. And all she could do was feel the tension leave her muscles, feel her eyelids start to get heavy, bring her wings slowly up to his cheek—and then sock him right in the jaw bone as hard as she could. Arin recoiled into the wall of the tree with a loud thud.

"Wha-what the hell is wrong with you!" Bianca tried to sound angry, but at that point, she was more worried about her disobedient legs that wouldn't stand and the horribly vibrant blush standing out on the white plumage of her cheeks.

"Well, if we survive this," Arin rubbed his jaw, but spoke with a straight face, "I think we should give this relationship a try."

"What relationship, you dolt?" Bianca exclaimed, flailing her wings wildly, "A-Arin, look at us. We're too different—way too different; it wouldn't work."

"We'd make it work."

"Oh….my…god…you're really serious about this, aren't you?" Bianca rubbed her head. If it was even possible, her blush got even brighter, "What about when we wanna…uhm…you know…?"

Arin's ears perked up. He scratched his cheek almost as though he were in deep thought, to Bianca's annoyance. "Just think of how wild the ride would be for you."

"Get serious about loving me, dammit! Biacna's foot dropped down on Arin's head. The moment he crashed face first into the ground, she once against started pecking and rapping his head wildly in an endless array of attacks.

-()()()()()()())()()()(()(-

Silver panted as he sprinted up yet another winding staircase. He knew the Sacred Bastion was large, but now it was starting to wear on him. Or maybe it was the fatigue he had already sustained from his battle with the wily wolf, Ein. But he wasn't going to let it stop him—he wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop him. Even if a whole army stood between him and Snow, he would fight till the last soldier was down. The spiraling staircase finally ended at the foot of a long landing. Unlike the cold, stone and ice structure before, this particular hall seemed cut off from the original design. White marble and alabaster sent a rage of light back at Silver from the sun reflecting through the ice. A long, velvety carpet stretched from the mouth of the hallway all the way to a pair of large double doors. Silver felt his heart start to race. This was it, the point of no return. Through that door, Garnet and Snow were waiting. Through that door, his fate was waiting, deciding whether or not to make the Sacred Bastion his sanctuary or his grave. Silver closed his eyes. It didn't matter if he died. As long as he took Garnet out with him, Snow would be safe. Fully resolved, Silver cast his fears aside and charged forward. He shouldered his way through the doors with such force that they slammed against the wall and Silver had to slide to a stop on the smooth, polished floor.

By now, the sun was filling the grand hall in spades, bouncing light from the windows and pillars. The smell of beautiful flowers ensnared Silver's nose, almost giving him a foreboding sense of relaxation. Immediately, the midnight wolf's eyes scanned the vast, rather empty chamber. They glided towards the far wall; up the towering steps; resting on the throne seated in the middle. Silver felt his heart give one, hard, anxious thud.

The wolf looked like him almost down to the very core. But something about him was off; the air around him wasn't pure and honest, but rather sharp, cold, and very calculating. He sat atop his throne with what seemed like a look of utter boredom, leaning over the right side arm of the chair. The sight of Garnet was alarming, but it wasn't the meeting of his brother in the flesh that made Silver start trembling. On the contrary, it was the snowy female wolf of whom laid obediently at the front of the throne. She didn't look at Silver immediately. As a matter of fact, Snow seemed to be averting her gaze from him entirely. Around her neck was a black collar, studded with silvery spikes and her tail had a black satin bow branding the middle. Silver's trembling had become more pronounced and he felt his fangs clenching tight. Snow looked like someone's lap dog; an obedient wolf that couldn't even jump at the sight of her beloved out of fear of repercussions. Fear and anger roared like twin dragons inside of Silver as he took a harsh step forward.

"Snow….SNOW!" Silver's body reached; his wings flared from behind his back, and he found himself launching directly towards Garnet and Snow.

* * *

**_And so it starts, ladies and gentlemen; the ultimate showdown between Silver and Garnet! Will Silver defeat his brother and rescue Snow? Or will he be doomed to a fate worse than death? Tune in next time for the next chapter of Silver Snow!_**


	10. Out In A Blaze of Glory

**_Hey, everyone! Well, the story is almost over. This chapter was originally one chapter, but for the sake of length and whatnot, I split it into two, but they'll be uploaded at the same time. Again, I can't thank everyone enough for their continued support of this story. Tell your friends, family, or anyone who you'd think would be interested in Silver Snow. And so, without further delay, enjoy the next chapter!_**

**_Chapter 8: Out In A Blaze of Glory_**

"Snow….SNOW!" Silver's body reacted; his wings flared from behind his back, and he found himself launching directly towards Garnet and Snow.

Garnet turned his head to Silver sharply; a wall of flames roared from out of nowhere, crashing into his brother in a blaze of heat. But Silver's thoughts had become one-tracked, and though the flames pained him, he tore his body through them with his claws and aimed out for Garnet's throat. For a moment, the two brothers' paws clashed; wind whipped from Silver's body, trying to reach and strike his brother, whereas the flames from Garnet's form desperately went towards the midnight wolf. As a result, the forces crackled and flashed in wild, uncontrollable stalemates that sent energy flying everywhere. Stray winds tore into the ground, turning up the stone and fragmenting the floor; deflected steams of fire crashed into the pillars and damn near incinerated the plant life while shattering parts of the structure. Snow gasped and tried to move back, but then suddenly felt a sharp, intense burning in her shoulder. _Be__still_, she felt Garnet's will imposing in on her own, forcing her to stay and watch the two complimentary forces of nature clashing in fierce opposition. So Snow gazed in horror, knowing that Silver hadn't seen his brother's grin behind the fury; knowing that the wolf was just waiting for him to get close. The only thing she could do was shout out his name.

"Silver!"

BANG! The air in front of Silver exploded with such force that the midnight wolf was thrown back like a sleek, black bullet. He crashed into the wall with a loud thud that shook the room, and the spot where he made contact cratered so deep that it acted like a cradle to the repelled wolf. Snow clasped her paws over her mouth, eyes wide and trembling. Silver coughed, pain racking his trembling body. Since when had Garnet gotten so strong? Up until now, they had been fairly evenly matched, but now, there was such a difference that Silver felt the fear gripping his chest.

"And it's nice to see you again too." Garnet slowly sat up. Hs gaze turned down to Silver with a flicker of his ears. "You look tired. I guess someone couldn't follow orders. I trust you made him pay for his insubordination, yes?"

"D-don't patronize me!" Silver spat. He dropped down from the wall and shakily back on his paws. Debris rolled off his back where he knew the skin under his fur was already starting to turn purple. Yeah, running head-on was a very stupid idea indeed. "Just let Snow go."

"Let her go? Why, can't you see that she is the key to everything, brother?" Garnet slowly rose to his paws. He stepped over Snow and then casually made his way down the long staircase. "Tell me this, Silver. Do you know why are you here, standing before me again?"

"I'm here to save Snow." Silver snarled, "And to stop you."

"Interesting," Garnet came to a halt in the middle of the staircase. Silver hadn't noticed the cold winter air that was wafting through the archways from the outside, until a particularly strong draft blew Garnet's headfur from his face. His eyes were calm, but indignant as he gazed straight at Silver. "You still think this is as cut and dry as that—as it has been before with us, Silver?"

"I don't care about anything else except saving Snow and my family, Garnet." Silver said.

Garnet grimaced. His eyes reflected something of utter disappointment. "How nice it must be…to be able to have such single-minded, ignorant conviction like a child. Silver, you are unfit to hold the same position of power as I." And then, Garnet's paw split the air, and Silver found himself rolling to the side from a pillar of flames that crashed into the wall. Garnet leapt from the stairs with all the grace of a swan, and all the deadlines of a tiger, landing just inches before Silver. The two snarled and began lashing out at each other, claws missing or connecting to hips and cheeks; fangs brandishing against shoulders. Fire and gale burst around them in radical explosions that literally tore at the beauty of the room. Snow wanted to move; she wanted to run every time she winced from a string of flames that whizzed just inches from her cheek; every time a slice of wind split yet another stair closer to her. But Garnet's hold on her was ironclad, and all she could do was watch as the two supernatural wolves fought.

Silver panted slightly. He couldn't pretend that his fight with Ein hadn't taken a toll on him. Aside from that, the usual level of evenness he felt with Garnet was definitely skewed in his brother's favor. But why was that? What made him so much stronger now than before? Or was it that Silver had just gotten weaker? It was a possibility; time spent suppressing who he was may have finally caught up with him. Still, he forcibly shoved any idea of losing out of his head.

"This is no longer about you and I, Silver." There was a loud banging sound as Silver's and Garnet's shoulders slammed together in a gale and burning force that shook the room. The two trembled as they went into a struggle to overpower the other, shoulders grinding and bursts of their power flying dangerously into the air.

"This has gone far beyond being about reclaiming our former glory. Why can't you see that?" Garnet continued.

"You're talking nonsense." Silver grunted. The two heaved as hard as they could, and there was yet another forceful explosion that sent the both of them flying backwards. Garnet slid on his paws, threads of flames spiraling around his body, while Silver did the same, strong winds billowing from his fur. To the eye, it looked like a stalemate. To Silver, it was one-sided. His shoulder felt burned and numb, and even his wings began to droop low on the floor from fatigue. It pained him to think it, but if things kept up like this, he would die.

"Is it nonsense to right a world that has wrong you?" Garnet stated, "Is it nonsense to want to change a world that shuns beautiful things—that creates an asinine balance that turns on what it's sworn to protect?" He frowned and turned his look away from Silver. Instead, his gaze went up towards the skylight windows. It was so strange; the sun had been streaming endless pools of light through the glossy panes earlier. Now, there was no light—at least, to light from the sun. The sky had gone abnormally black beyond their notice, and they could even see a few stars flecking the surface. Was it already night? But how was that even possible? Silver rubbed his eyes—discerning his sanity—before taking another look.

"The ones who split us," Garnet spoke, "The spirits who preserve the balance—who tore you and I apart in the name of that balance—do you think they deserve to carry on like this?"

"We have no one to blame but ourselves." Silver said.

"Do you really believe that? You and I sought to better this world." Garnet, for once, showed the first signs of his true anger. His fangs were clenched and his claws had long-since dug holes into the hard, marble floor. "You and I sought to preserve the beautiful things in this world, and what do the other spirits do to us? They snatch our power and damned us to an endless cycle of fighting; they pit us against each other, brother against brother, to preserve what they call peace. Well, if this is their version of peace and beauty, then I shall defy it!"

"You're insane!" Silver's fur stood on end and his wings suddenly gave a very quick and swishing movement; a sharp, speedy gust of gale—the same kind of wind that had killed Ein—whipped right towards Garnet at sickening speed.

Garnet sighed. "Snow,"

Snow's ears perked up and before she even knew what was happening, she was up on her paws. It was as though her brain had suddenly been disconnected from her body and all control had gone to Garnet. But she could still feel; feel the presence of a strong, foreign power building in every muscle in her body. She could feel heat as hot as fire surge through her, flaring and raging, practically begging the snow-white wolf to release it. The feeling was almost exhilarating, and she was ashamed to admit it. Snow's body moved a lot faster than should have ever been possible; within a fragmented second, she was in front of Garnet. Flames flickered from her mouth before pouring out in a blazing stream that almost instantly clashed and blocked the on-coming wind in a loud, room-shaking burst.

Silver felt the grip of horror choking him. Even as the smoky debris from the stalemated power cleared the room, he was still struggling to realize that he hadn't gone crazy. Snow stood before him, between him and Garnet, embers flickering from the corners of her mouth like bright-burning fireflies. The flame insignia on her shoulder—now in plain sight—was smoking ever so slightly. It was hard to read her expression at first; her eyes were alive, but almost vacant. Silver's legs felt like jello. He had promised to protect her. He had promised to make sure that nothing dangerous had ever happened to Snow ever again. And yet, Garnet had marked her; doomed her to a fate worse than death.

"Garnet…you…" Silver's voice cracked, as if the realization of his marked mate was still being beaten into his brain.

"Yes, I gave her my mark." Garnet placed his paw on Snow's head. She wanted to move; to run to Silver and tell him how sorry she was; to get as far away from Garnet as she possibly could. But she couldn't. Snow could only stand there while Garnet pet the top of her head like some lowly dog.

"So I'd be careful about your next move, Silver. I'm sure you're more than capable of ending my life, however, it wouldn't be the only one should you go through with it." Garnet continued, walking around Snow almost protectively. "Snow is a key part in all of this and I can't have her leaving away from me…just yet."

"You bastard!" Silver spat. Sadness, frustration, and anger surged within him like a burning star. His lips were rolled back, showing every one of his sharp fangs that were more than eager to rip Garnet to pieces. He felt his claws digging into the ground, once again crippled to fight by the love of someone close to him.

"I don't think you have room to talk, Silver." Garnet unwrapped himself from around Snow, but his unspoken order told her to stay put, "for your mark is on her too."

"What?"

"Oh yes, Silver. You were the very first to ever mark Snow, when you were pups."

"Shut up! I'd never do that to her!" Silver barked, poised to leap at Garnet and weighed down by the risk it entailed.

Garnet scratched his cheek. By the look on Silver's face, it seemed he truly had no clue. "That's awkward. I was told for sure that you had regained all of your memories, yet you don't remember marking her at all?" Snow couldn't remember either. If Silver's marking was anything as physically violating as Garnet's (of which, by now she was starting to believe he did just to mess with her), she'd had definitely remembered it, if not enjoyed it. But the only such memory she had of Silver showing his power was the night she feared he would kill her.

Silver frowned. His mind tried desperately to assess the situation, but kept stubbornly returning to what Garnet had said. It had to be a lie. Surely if he ever did mark Snow, he'd had known it himself; felt it like how he felt a significant hold over Anna and Ophelia. But with Snow, he felt no such hold. Sure, there was a connection between them, but it was more like a mutual pull than an overpowering grip.

"You aren't making sense." Silver responded to his brother. Garnet's expression transitioned to one of annoyance. But only for a fleeting moment. He really seemed more interested in the still night sky showing through the skylights above. By now, the moon was high, shining like a silvery circle in the air and putting the stars to shame. Garnet looked back to Snow. She had regained her meager hold of herself and was now looking down at her paws in shame.

"The fact that you don't remember marking Snow won't change what's about to happen. You see…" Garnet then turned his gaze to Silver, "My plan to reshape the balance of this world has already been set forth, and the moment Snow arrived, everything was realized." He began pacing the floor. "For years, I've spent my life tracking down the spirits who condemned you and I to this hell. I hunted them down one by one, attacking them and tearing them away from this world. But there is a problem." Garnet's pacing became more agitated. "I don't have enough power to fully kill them. No, no, they are much too strong for that. The only thing I've achieved is to tear them away from their physical bodies away from this world. In order to kill them, I need a much stronger power—our power from when we were whole. This entire time, you thought it was just about us becoming whole again for the single purpose of being so. But Silver," Garnet returned his gaze to Silver so sharply that he jumped, "Think clearly. I have been so close to you since we were pups; since I let you float like a lifeless heap down that river. Don't you think I'd have killed you right then and there? It'd have been easy…"

Silver sucked his fangs. He had thought of that. The conversation with Bianca had all but confirmed that Garnet had purposely let him live.

"So why didn't I kill you, Silver? What do you think would happen if I killed you now? That I'd win this struggle? That I'd regain the former glory you and I had before all this?" Garnet spat on the ground. "The guardians were not so gracious. They wronged us, Silver. They saw us as a threat to their precious balance. And so not only did they split us, but they damned us to fight not so we could re-earn our powers, but so that when one finally kills the other, he remains just as he is now. They made it to where we could never be whole again. If I were to kill you now, nothing would change. You would die and I would gain absolutely nothing."

"Then why all this?" Silver exclaimed, "Garnet, if nothing can be gained by one of us killing the other, why go through all this? Why put my love—my family—in the middle of something so senseless?"

Garnet sat down and stared hard at Silver. His eyes were now more agitated than ever with a flame so furious that nothing would put it out. If looks could kill, Silver would have been dead ten times over.

"I had mentioned earlier that I couldn't kill the guardian spirits on my power alone. Instead, what happens is that when their bodies are destroyed, their souls return to the Valley of Kings. With my full power, I could go there; I could break down the door to the Valley of Kings and finish what I started. I can't regain my power by killing you, and for us to stalemate and both die again would ruin my plans for good. But Snow…" Garnet reached out to touch Snow's cheek, ignoring Silver's warning growl or Snow's want to move away. "She now has both our marks. Having both of our marks means she has both of our power. Her body has been turned to a living conduit of spiritual energy and through her, not only will I barge into the Valley of Kings, but I will also permanently destroy every guardian spirit whose soul rests within. With them gone, this asinine balance can finally be destroyed."

"She can't be marked by both of us, Garnet." Silver stated angrily, "If she were, our wills would conflict and she'd have died the moment yours appeared on her."

"Which is where your memory loss plays in." Garnet stated, "I believe your repressed memory also repressed your power, which in turn made your mark on Snow lay dormant. So instead of our wills clashing, her body has had ample time to adjust as a host and hold the two within her. And now—" Garnet nudged Snow harsh enough to make her slide forward. She fell in front of Silver's feet, who quickly scooped her up in his arms. The hug was tight and she eagerly grasped onto him, as though finally uniting with a part of her she had lost. The two of them muttered sad apologies, both wishing that it was all a bad dream that they would wake up from any moment now.

"It goes without saying Snow's life is mine. If you want to do something for her, cooperate." Garnet said, then held up his paw slowly. "Otherwise…"

And then, Snow was suddenly gasping. The moment Garnet's paw had clenched tight, her throat felt blocked off, like a massive hand closing around her windpipe. She sputtered and coughed, grasping for the invisible hand only to get nothing. Snow rolled onto the ground, wheezing and trembling as her lungs burned for air.

"Stop it! STOP IT!" A horrified Silver exclaimed.

"You'll do what I want?"

"Yes, yes, just stop it now!" Silver snarled, but could only hold Snow in his arms, watching her suffocate right before his eyes. His anger had gone to such a fever pitch that he was beginning to lose control. Minute blades of air flowed from his fur, cutting grooves into the already damaged floor around him. But as it stood, he could do nothing. He was completely at the mercy of Garnet, and Garnet knew it; knew that Silver would give anything for his beloved even if she was fated to die. Garnet loosened his grip and Snow was gasping once again. Her chest heaved as she took in massive amounts of precious air until she felt sick. She felt worse than she had ever felt in her life. She thought that her misunderstanding of losing Silver to Luna was the worse feeling in the world, but she was so, so wrong. She was now a weapon of which he could never hope to win against. But when she looked up to Silver, expecting regret for ever falling in love with her; expecting hate and anger for allowing Garnet to use her like a sword against him, she didn't see it. Even now, feeling totally whipped and utterly helpless, the loving relief of seeing her breathing again was almost overpowering. If Snow had died at hat moment, Silver's full look of love was enough to make her content.

"What do you want me to do…" Silver breathed, talking to Garnet, but not taking his eyes off Snow.

"Reawaken your mark." Garnet said simply.

At first, Silver didn't move. If he reawakened his mark—provided there was one from him on her to begin with—what would happen to Snow? Would it really be as harmless as Garnet had been making it out to be? Or did all roads point to death not only for Snow, but for him too? Because surely after Garnet had no use for him, he would execute Silver if not both of them. However, if there was some small chance that Snow would survive after everything was said and done, then he had to act I her best interest.

"It's okay…" Snow placed her paws on Silver's cheeks, her emerald eyes looking into his. "I understand…do what you have to do, Silver." She closed her eyes. She knew he was fretting for her life, and would have preferred it if he had just ended Garnet now and stop the whole damn thing. Her Silver wasn't like that, though. Her Silver would have taken on hell and the devil himself for her.

Silver's maw was suddenly pressing down on hers. The kiss was indeed a bit rough, but passionately so, and Snow found herself gripping the fur on his back tight. She lay beneath him, bodies pressed, mouth and nose eagerly feeling right to be united once again. At first, nothing happened and time stopped while the two lovers made out in the light of the abnormally full moon. Snow was the first to feel it. Power sparked inside her like a star that had recently gone dead. It was light at first; a prick of energy every now and then in the pit of her body. But the longer she and Silver kissed, the more the sparks lasted until her whole body had erupted in a fierce gale that made the debris roll away from the floor. The two powers inside her were dancing, not fighting, slowly filling Snow with more of an adrenaline rush than what she had felt before. Silver's power was soft and soothing, and Garnet's power was hard and powerful, yet inside Snow, they mingled in supernatural harmony. As thought it had been there all along, Silver's symbol appeared through the fur of her left thigh. The moment Silver broke the kiss, the wind had ceased, but the surge between him and Snow still lingered. It was impossible to explain; the sense of familiarity in Silver's hold on Snow should not have existed. And yet, here it was, cropping up like something that had never truly left him. He could tell by the look in Snow's eyes that she felt the same way.

"Excellent," Garnet stood up to his paws. Snow and Silver snapped up abruptly out of their reverie. They had almost forgotten that Garnet was there, so lost in each other as they were. His expression was off; still in control, but no longer blindingly agitated. Anticipation marred his face and his eyes were wild with what looked like long-awaited excitement. "Almost…the time for me to rewrite this world is almost here."

It happened so suddenly. Snow was suddenly rolling onto the floor again, trembling. The white of her fur was getting brighter and brighter, until she was practically glowing very much like the silvery moon above the skylight. It wasn't so much pain she felt. Instead, Snow felt like she was slipping; like her soul was being poured out of her body and she was suddenly falling towards a vast, dark emptiness. The brighter her fur glowed, the faster she fell. Snow tried to call out, but if she did, she couldn't hear her own screaming voice. Sound washed away from the world around her, and then her vision began to blur. Snow felt a foreboding question form in the back of her drowning mind. Was this what it felt like to die? Endless slipping and falling from the world as she knew it until nothing was left? She hadn't had much time to ponder it, though. Snow felt the last of her draining away and the last thing she saw was Silver frantically calling out her name in a soundless repeat. Then, there was nothing but darkness.

**_Crap...Will the situation take a turn for the better? Find out in the next chapter of Silver Snow!_**


	11. Grounded in Defeat

**_And here's the second part of chapter 8, technically chapter nine now, lol. Enjoy, everyone_**

_**Chapter 9: Grounded In Defeat**_

"Ophelia, put me down, now…"

"Now way, Lord Silver said to take care of you and that's what I'm going to do." Ophelia smirked. She knew that if Silver were around to hear her say that, she'd have seen those cute silvery eyes flare up with annoyance. Though she was getting pretty annoyed herself at the moment. Anna had been squirming atop her back almost like a little pup refusing to be carried by her mother. She had half a mind to just drop Anna right then and there, but Silver's orders were absolute—regardless if he planned to force her or not.

"I want to stay here with my son." Anna protested.

"And do what? Get in his way? Worry him because we're still here even though he clearly told me to get you out?" Ophelia shot. Anna opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. Ophelia probably didn't have pups. What would she know about a mother's worry? How would she know what it felt like to sit around while her only son rushed off to what could be his death?

"You're worried, I get that." Ophelia looked at her, "But we're no use to your son if we become things he has to keep protecting."

"I know that…" Anna sucked her fangs. She looked down to her forepaws. Had they not gone completely dead on her, she probably would have ran after Silver anyway. Ophelia turned for the pathway leaving from the room.

"He's going to be fine. He has _her_ after all. A man will do anything when he's in love—" Ophelia suddenly stopped. Footsteps. She could hear footsteps coming form the other side of the corridor she was about to leave through. All the grunts were gone out of the bastion, so it couldn't have been them. Ein was dead, and the only person she could think of who was left made her knees tremble. Not him, she thought, anyone but hi right now. Ophelia swore under her breath; if they had just left when Silver said so, they may have gotten out without a hassle. He slowly stepped out from the shadows, the air of authority he exuded practically suffocating Ophelia. Koda approached the two females with all the frightening calm in the world. Ophelia felt the fear activate Silver's mark, a soft gale twisting around her body. If there were anyone more loyal to Garnet, it was Koda. Which meant that under Garnet's orders, the two of them would only get out over Koda's dead body.

"Koda…" It was Anna who broke the silence first. She wasn't trembling. She wasn't scared in the least. Instead, she looked almost surprised. It didn't strike Ophelia as unusual, though. Anna had been forced into Koda's care the entire time she was captured. The fact that he hadn't broken her nearly like he had done Ophelia when she was first recruited probably meant Anna had no real clue as to how cold and nerve-racking Koda could be. Koda turned his gaze to Ophelia's leg almost immediately, as though he could sense treachery to Garnet a mile away. She grimaced. He already hated her, and now, he had pure reason to kill her. Koda stepped up to Ophelia—and then walked right past her.

"Uh…?" Ophelia blinked, "Hey! What's your problem?" She stupidly asked and whirled around. Oh why couldn't she just shut her mouth and run? Koda slowly came to a stop, though he didn't turn around. His eyes closed.

"This is about to become a place unfit for you. You need to get out of here."

The words hit Ophelia like a punch to the jaw. That was it? No confrontation, no blowing them up with extreme prejudice? She hesitated. Turning her back on him after saying something like that couldn't end well. But Koda only continued to walk up the stairs, as though they were nothing important.

"Koda, wait," Anna struggled off of Ophelia's back, but quickly found that to be a bad idea. Her forepaws immediately gave way and she was tumbling towards the ground. Koda moved very fast, almost as fast as Silver had moved when he noticed Eve about to be burned to a crisp. His body was underneath Anna's, breaking her fall, carefully and gingerly laying her on the ground as though she were some precious, fragile thing. It was enough to make Ophelia's jaw drop. Sure, he looked like the Koda who would have incinerated her within a blink for betraying Garnet, but his actions were totally opposite.

"Where are you going…?" Anna asked.

"Go home, Anna. What's about to happen isn't something you need to be here for." Koda said as cold as ever. He rose to walk away from Anna, whose look of worry had…increased?

"But what about you?" Anna pleaded. At first, Koda did not answer her. He made his way up the stairs and to the landing high above them. He was about to go through the threshold when he stopped without turning once again.

"Win or lose, I am bound to my master. I will not leave his side even if it means I have to die. Anna, you know that."

And then, he was gone. Ophelia looked to Anna. She looked more hurt than ever, probably wishing she could pound her lame paws against the stone floor. Ophelia couldn't help but wonder what had gone on while Anna was in Koda's care. Or more so, what the hell could have gotten into Koda so much that he wouldn't bother killing a traitor.

"Let's go…" Anna mumbled under her breath, leaving a dumb-struck Ophelia to come and pick her up once again.

-()()()()()()()()()()())()()()()()()-

"Snow! Snow! Goddammit, Snow, don't close your eyes!" But it was too late. Snow's eyes had slammed shut despite all of Silver's yelling and screaming. He tried shaking her, lightly slapping her face, and even a fairytale kissing approach, but nothing would seem to make Snow stir. What had happened? Snow seemed just fine a few moments ago. Now, she lay in almost a lifeless heap in his arms. Her fur was still glowing like a shining star in correlation to the moonlight above, Garnet's and Silver's marks standing out like a sore thumb.

"Don't worry," The look on Garnet's face had lost the final traces of his collectiveness. It was now fully twisted with dark excitement. His wings flared to life from his back and he took a single step towards the shimmering moonlight. "She won't stay like that for long. At least, not until I'm done with her…" At that, Garnet's symbol on Snow glowed the brightest. Silver almost jumped as the snowy white wolf practically leapt out of his arms, landing on her paws. Silver's heart leapt as well; she wasn't dead; he hadn't killed her by complying to Garnet's psychotic demand.

"Snow…" Her name rolled out of Silver's mouth automatically and he quickly made his way over to her. And then, he stopped. Snow's eyes were definitely open, but the vibrant emerald color was damn near gone. She looked blank, as though she were a body without a soul. It didn't even look like she was breathing. Just standing there, silent and motionless as death. "Snow…what's wrong…?" Silver's voice came out like a lump.

"She can't hear you." Garnet said, "Our power has completely taken her over, and now, she has become a key." He slowly raised his paw up towards the sky. "And now, Snow, I command you to open up the gate to the Valley of Kings! Open the gate and bring my vision closer to fruition!"

"…." Snow said nothing. Instead, two pairs of wings—one pair white as the moon and the second as black as the night—shot from her back with such force that a flurry of feathers blew around the room. Silver could feel the ground below his paws suddenly start to rumble, light at first, only noticeable by the shaking of the debris scattered around. The magnitude quickly rose in octaves, going from a simple tremble to a mighty quake. The entire room was shaking, violently enough to drive cracks through the many pillars that were still standing; strongly enough to fracture the archways, shift the stairs, and turn the glass of the windows into a rain of glistening shards. Silver's stomach lurched; the kind of feeling one would get if something was lifting or moving. It was slow at first, but quickly came to the point where he felt his balance shifting. Silver gave a quick glance outside one of the archways. The stars were moving downwards and misty wisps of cloud started to gloss the ground as a loud breaking sound echoed into the sky. If there were ever a chance for Silver and Snow to escape, it was now literally floating away with the clouds.

Snow's body slowly lifted up towards the skylight, her headfur swaying as though an invisible wind were blowing across her. Her eyes—still utterly lifeless—closed and her paws clasped together in a prayer position. She looked like a shimmering white angel, her beautiful wings stretching out to the tips, yet too majestic to need to flap to fly.

"Snow!" Silver didn't think. He wasn't even sure why he did it. His body forcibly pushed him off the ground, propelling him towards Snow. His paws reached out, as if all he had to do was touch her; grab her and bring her down back to earth so that everything could be alright. Silver never got that chance. The moment the midnight wolf got within inches of his beloved, a sharp, pulsing energy suddenly began to shock and rattle through his body. The power was familiar—his own power long ago before he had become just Silver, turned against him in cruel irony. The force exploded and shot Silver back with all the intensity of a myriad of brick walls. He flew into one of the pillars and there was a sickening, unmistakable snap from his left forearm. The entire pillar crumbled and he fell with it in a heap on the floor.

"Well now, I hope you won't be doing that again." Garnet stated, "I'm not quite ready for you to die just yet."

"You bastard!" Silver roared with all the intensity of a lion, forcing his body up through the rubble. Even with his broken left forearm completely useless, he struggled to the best upright position he could manage, eyes locked hard on Garnet. His brother had gone too far, regressing Snow into nothing more than a lifeless puppet. He didn't care how strong Garnet had gotten; he didn't care if his leg was broken, or that Snow, now infused with his former power, could reduce him to nothing but an ugly stain on the floor. Garnet was going to die, even if it meant he dragged Silver down with him. A powerful wind spiraled around Silver, shoving the debris wildly aside.

"Sorry, Silver," Garnet said, reading the murderous intent in Silver's eyes, "I won't be dying today." And no sooner had he said so, the light shining from Snow's body suddenly arched off in two different directions. The first thread struck Silver with all the intensity of a punch to the face, staggering the wolf. The thread of light felt like millions of tiny hands, entering inside his body, picking at whatever supernatural power he possessed and channeling it right back to Snow. It was too much for him to balance on three legs and he toppled over, cursing. An identical thread of light hit Garnet in the same manner, but he hadn't budged. As a matter of fact, it didn't look like he was tired at all. He just stood there, watching Snow work with an almost maniacal fascination. The threads of light continued to pick and pull at the two until Snow had become a bright shining star floating in the air. And then, all the light suddenly collapsed in on itself and the threads snapped into the nothingness from Silver and Garnet. At first, there was nothing but cold, dead silence. And then, the air behind Snow literally split open down the middle, slowly opening wider and wider at the sides. It stretched out wide and distorted, wriggling like something that was alive and finally able to escape whatever had been confining it. Once it was done expanding, Silver realized that it now resembled a threshold, of which a very familiar, very comforting air seemed to waft from within. He knew that place; knew the world that lay beyond the darkness of the walkway before them. The door to the Valley of Kings; the resting world for the guardian spirits who had lost their mortal forms in the living world; the very place he, like the other spirits, had been born.

"The Valley of Kings…" Garnet breathed. He took a slow step towards the opening, as though rushing towards it would send the surreal image running away. "The world in which it all begins for us. I've finally opened your gates again at long last. Come, Snow, the new world order awaits." And then, Garnet was making his way forward, passing through the doorway. Snow drifted down, mindless and obedient, and followed him beyond the threshold. The two of them vanished beyond the darkness, leaving Silver all alone. He felt so helpless. Snow was now Garnet's mindless puppet. His family was doomed, and now Garnet was ripe to change the world as he saw fit. He had come so he wouldn't die, and now Garnet would surely kill him soon. He was tired, fatigued from the fighting. And yet, Silver found himself shakily struggling back to his feet. He could have easily given up; just rolled over and died right then and there. But despite it all, Snow was still alive, waiting on him. He had no plan to go on. All he could do was just go. Silver accidentally stepped down on his broken leg and winced sharply. It was times like this that he cursed his wings. They didn't really exist for the purpose of flying. They were only there to serve as a catalyst for his power and nothing more. So he dragged his feathers like small weights, hobbling on three legs towards the doorway. There was no quitting. He had already gone beyond the point of turning back. Silver pushed his way through the threshold.

The world around Silver was suddenly wiped away in almost an instant. Instead, it had been replaced with something torn right out of a page of a storybook. Neon blues, purples, and pinks comprised of a land that seemingly had no floor. Millions upon millions of stars embellished what looked like an eternal night sky, despite all the lustrous light reflecting towards it. Rivers of fuchsia snaked through grand busts of unearthly figures and glowing flowers speckled the landscape. The trees reached up towards the sky in long vibrant arcs, the leaves resembling long, glossy-fingered hands. And there sat Garnet. He was only a slight distance away, Snow standing idly by his side. His head was turned up, aimed towards a myriad of spiral staircases that met at a circular landing with no middle floor above. Seven towering thrones sat amidst the stone platform, each of which had it's own unique flag and crest flowing in an absent breeze beneath it. But it wasn't so much the architecture that had Garnet's attention, but rather what was seated in six of the seven thrones. A transparent Japanese Koi, almost infant looking, sat curled in a throne branded with a flag of waves beneath. Next to it, a newborn fawn slept with it, hoof hanging off the side, touching its tree-branded flag. A baby phoenix; an infant crane; a child sheep; and a juvenile monkey newborn all slept in a clockwise rotation around the landing. The only empty throne was one Silver easily recognized. The flag beneath it waved with the image of the moon and sun, interwoven in a yin-yang symbol beneath. His throne. The fact that his was the only one empty meant that he and Garnet were the only ones left alive.

"Garnet!" Silver hobbled forward, but was going so slow, it seemed it would take ages for him to catch up with Garnet. Not that the identical wolf even bothered to turn at the mention of his name. A wild smirk spread across his maw.

"The great protectors of this world, bodies torn and souls reduced to but infants. And yet, the lot of you had the audacity to look down upon me; to damn me to this world and strip me of all my former glory; to take everything precious to me and then lock me out of my own home here in this valley. And I defeated all of you one by one." Garnet thrust his paw into the air. "Look at how mighty you are now, you filth! Gods reduced to dregs at my paw! You are all unfit to rule and shall now serve as my stepping stones to glory."

"You're crazy!" It was hard to muster, but Silver whipped his body, in turn, whipping his wings outwards. A strong gust of wind that would have been capable of cleaving even the mightiest structure in half like butter sped towards Garnet. Garnet turned his head back to Silver sharply, all the hate in the world reflecting in his suddenly furious eyes. He placed his paw down in the middle of Snow's back. She gasped and her fur began to glow again. Garnet raised his free paw, palm up towards the sky. It sparked, then suddenly became encapsulated with a roaring black flame with a bright, spiraling wind winding around it. Garnet gave a mighty swing, just mere moments before the gale from Silver reached him, and literally crushed it in a wild explosion as the two powers collided.

"Oh come on…" Silver panted.

"You've been a pain in my ass for far too long now, Silver. But I'll let you gaze upon glory as the last thing you'll ever see before you die." Garnet slowly let his paw drop from Snow's back; no sooner had he done so did the snowy white wolf slowly start to lift into the air again. Higher and higher she rose like an angel, her paws enclosed over the front of her muzzle, eyes closed as though she were merely sleeping. She drifted through the middle of the ring-shaped landing and stopped level with the thrones.

"Snow!" Silver dashed forward in protest, landed on his broken leg, and stumbled helplessly forward to the ground. "D-damn!"

"The beginning is now."

There was a loud strobe-like sound that echoed from out of nowhere as Snow's body suddenly became alit like a star again. Both Silver's and Garnet's symbols flared while light wafted around her wings, then shot off her body in six wild threads. Each thread latched onto one of the baby animals sitting on the thrones, but they remained motionless and undisturbed from their slumber. The world around them began to rumble. The water of the rivers shuddered, splashing and spilling over in wild octaves. The glowing flowers either withered or closed up and the leaves of the trees molted out into an absent wind and disappeared before they even got a chance to hit the ground. Every thread coming from Snow's body sparked violently, the current of which was channeled straight from her and down towards the slumbering spirits connected. They remained still. So obediently so that not even the face of death was enough to wake them. Their translucent bodies glowed, dimly at first. But the brighter the illumination became, the more distorted their bodies had become, until they had turned into nothing but multi-colored orbs of light. The world around Silver wailed as the threads whipped the lights around through the air in a dazzling array of bright-lighted colors. And then, like bullets, they shot right into Snow's own glowing body.

"Yes, Snow! Hear your master's final order! The power of every guardian—the power to change the balance of this world—deliver it to me! NOW!"

A tear, small yet clearly visible rolled down the side of Snow's cheek. Her eyes opened only slightly, but every trace of color or life in them was dead. The glowing in her body started to pool towards her paws, concentrating into one luminous orb that was so bright, Silver had to shield his eyes. The orb hovered for a few idle moments, then shot straight down to Garnet. Or rather, _through_ Garnet, right into his body from the middle of his spine with such force that the ground beneath him cracked visible, leaving crooked veins of dim light in the non-visible floor. Almost at once, the rumbling and shaking stopped. The world had gone into a forced, nerve-racking calm. Silver strained to sit up, disbelief branding the expression on his face. Everything had gone completely wrong. He had believed he had a chance to fix everything, or at least part of everything. There was no chance of that now. No chance at all. There was a loud thunk as Snow fell to the ground, landing on her wings. She lay motionless, not responsive in the least.

"Ack!" Garnet coughed. He slammed his forepaws onto the ground hard, inciting more cracks to the ones that already existed. His body was trembling. His eyes were dilated. He leaned over and slammed his head on the ground, loud and hard, wrapping his arms tight around himself. And then, he let loose a howl; an ear-splitting opus that screamed pain out into the infinite distance. Wings; six pairs of long, beautiful wings erupted from his back and sprayed the room wit a sheen of feathers. They weren't any one color, nor did they look completely solid, as Silver could see right through them. Garnet gasped, every strand of fur in his body was standing on end. It was power; too much power flowing through him and forcing his body to change to accommodate it. Silver watched in horror as Garnet's body grew two, then three, then five times its normal size until Silver had to tilt his head up a ways to gaze upon the now towering wolf. Garnet's muzzle and body became etched in markings that Silver could not decipher and his eyes had turned crimson like newly spilled blood. There was a pulse of power that whipped from his body, enough to send Snow careening into Silver and knocking the two of them back into a wilted tree. Silver shook in pain, but eagerly wrapped his arm around Snow. Even in the face of death, Snow always came first.

"Snow…Snow, my love, wake up…" Silver said. Snow did not move. He reached over to touch her cheek, but almost drew his paw back immediately. The skin under her fur was so cold. He bit his lip and gave her a nudge. Snow didn't wake. Silver lightly slapped the side of her muzzle. Snow as motionless. He cold feel ice creeping up to his chest, now shaking her till her head lulled over, her headfur moving from her face. Slowly, very slowly, Silver lowered his head; pressed his ear up against her chest. There was no breath. There was no heartbeat. There was no life. Silver felt everything slipping away from him. Garnet, the world around him, everything just seemed to jumble up together in a void that he had no care of what became of it. Everything in his body felt stiff, except for the taunting of his heartbeat, telling him he was still alive; telling him that yes, this was really happening. Silver tried to call out to her, in the vain hope that she would respond. No sound, just air, escaped his mouth. All he could do was sit there, holding the dead snowy wolf, feeling every emotion in his body numb completely.

"…." Garnet looked at his paws. He had really done it. The guardians were gone and dead, their powers surging through his very own body. It was a sickeningly wonderful feeling. He brandished an outstretched paw; the water from the rivers gave a mighty leap, crashing down into one of the trees with such overwhelming force that the wooden structure wailed before splintering to the ground. A sick smile spread across Garnet's face. He brandished his other paw. The splinters on the ground stretched like long, spear-like tendrils that skewered through the landing and tore into one of the thrones; flames and wind licked the air around his body, and when he clasped his paws together, light and darkness—wispy in form—closed around the elements and dispersed them to nothing.

"This is it…" Garnet breathed. "Everything has finally—FINALLY—come together to this single moment. H-heh…ha-ha-ha-ha…." And then, he threw his head back and laughed. Hard. It was that kind of dark laughter of realization that someone would imitate in a story book, only ten times worse. His laughter rang out across the land, as devoid of life as it now was.

"The time of this world has come to a close. And so, Silver," Garnet dropped his head, his deadly crimson eyes locking on Silver, "Your usefulness here has officially ended." The tree he had knocked down trembled before the splinters transformed upright into another sharp, wooden tendril. It took aim—right between Silvers eyes—before cutting through the air with such sickening speed that it whistled.

Silver did not move. He didn't care. His world had been snatched away from him. What did it matter if he was led to follow it? What did it matter if the world was rewritten? What was a world without Snow? He would have given anything for Snow's life. But his 'anything' wasn't enough. And now, all he could do was sit there. All he could do was die.

All he could do was die…

* * *

_**Things just aren't looking good for Silver and Snow right now. With everything seeming to go wrong, will Silver and Snow pull through? Or will this be the end of a gallant try for our two heroes? Tune in to the next chapter of Silver Snow!**_


	12. Silver Snow

**___Well, everyone, this is it. The second to last chapter of Silver Snow! It's been a good run, but it's about time to bring things to an end. Sorry about the late release, everyone, and enjoy_**

**_Chapter 10: Silver Snow_**

Arin lay groaning face-first in the cold snow. His head was tender and bruised underneath his fur from Bianca's furious kicking, and his dominator sat triumphantly on his back. Okay, so maybe his teasing had finally gone too far.

"Stupid idiot," Bianca folded her wings. She was still blushing furiously, "You still wanna keep that crap up?"

"I'll let you know after my brain stops rattling in my head." Arin groaned again. He wanted to get up. His face was starting to get numb, but he dare not toss Bianca off of him, lest she start wailing on him again. The wolves hadn't come back to circle after them, which was a miracle in itself, but who knew what may happen if they were to venture out from their hiding spot?

"It's your own fault—" Bianca's voice rattled as the ground beneath her suddenly started to rumble violently, as though someone had taken hold of the earth and given it a good shake. She tried to hold onto Arin, but ended up falling flat in the snow.

"What the—?" Arin rolled up to his knees, his paws supporting his body. Though the world around him was starting to tremble, his attention was more focused on the sky. He was sure that it was still early morning when they had arrived at the Sacred bastion. But now, the sky was going dark, flecking with stars as though the earth's axis had been flopped. The sun was replaced by a bright, silvery moon that was glowing so radiantly that the shadows of the night stretched far and wide. Arin blinked, slapped himself, and then blinked again. The sky was still dark and the moon had become seemingly more radiant since the last time he blinked.

"What's going on…?" Bianca gasped. She hadn't realized that the ground shaking had slowed to an abrupt stop and that she was standing back on her feet. There was a loud crumbling in the distance, loud enough to cause the two to whirl around from about the fallen tree. Their jaws dropped. The Sacred Bastion was rumbling, large chunks of stone and ice raining like snowfall down towards the ground. At first, it looked like the entire towering structure would go slipping off the face of the mountainside. But instead the uppermost portion seemed to be separating from the rest. It lifted higher and higher, shaking loose architectural debris until it was completely detached from the rest of the Sacred Bastion.

"Bianca…" Arin breathed, feeling as though his brain was about ready to fry from al the supernatural shock of the days past. "You don't think Silver and Snow are up there, do you?"

"I don't know…" Bianca felt worry already starting to settle in the pit of her stomach. "Let's hope not…"

-()()()()()()()()())()()()()()())()-

Ophelia was having trouble staying on her paws. The Sacred Bastion's shaking, coupled with having to tow Anna on her back like a pup was making her want to kick something hard in the face. She panted as she rounded the corners of long, stone-patterned hallways, barely dodging fallen parts of the structure and praying that nothing would hit Anna without her notice. Damn Garnet to hell for having such a ridiculously huge lair. He might as well have made it an elongated labyrinth and thrown in a few minotaurs while he was at it.

"What's going on up there..?" Anna's voice rumbled.

"Don't know, but we need to focus on getting out of here." Ophelia stated.

"I hope Silver is okay…"

"If Silver was dead, we would be too." She had meant it to be of comfort, but Ophelia sighed when she saw Anna's dejected look. So the female wolf decided to return her focus to her running. The light at the end of the tunnel was long in coming, but when it did come, she burst out through the entrance and into the vast, snowy courtyard.

"Watch out!" Anna clamped her fangs onto Ophelia's neck and suddenly jerked her sideways; the two wolves rolled onto the ice cold snow just as one of the once towering pillars shattered in the spot they had been standing in. Ophelia spat the slushed snow that caught in her mouth and took to literally dragging Anna back up to her back. The thanks could come later, she decided, as another tall pillar lay waste to the ground. She took Anna far away from the grounds of the Sacred Bastion, only stopping once they were a safe distance away atop a snowy hillside. Ophelia almost tossed Anna off her back, panting with her tongue hanging out of her mouth.

"Goddamn, girl, you weight more than you look." She stated through lung-fulls of precious air. Anna ignored it. She was more fixated on the state of the crumbling Sacred Bastion before them. The uppermost portion was drifting off into the now night sky, aiming towards the full, glowing orb orbiting above. There was an eerie sort of beauty to it that sent shivers up her spine. Things were about to get even worse than they already were.

"Please be okay, Silver…"

-()()()()()()()()()()()()-

It had been easy enough to wish Silver good luck as he left away, but now Kate found herself pacing he floor of her den. A rescue mission wasn't something that was done in the snap of the fingers. She was aware of that, however, she found herself looking up at her den entrance, almost ready to charge to Silver's and Snow's rescue.

"Kate, calm down…" Winston had a crick in his neck from watching Kate walk back and forth. Eve was asleep next to him. Though she was almost fully recovered, she was still fatigued and needed a lot of sleep. "Your pacing isn't going to make anything different."

"I know, I know, but still…" Kate mumbled. She took a seat by the wall, only to take up pacing again. "I should have gone with him—took a team with us to make sure they got back safely."

"Bring them back safely? Do you think that would really be the case, Kate?" Winston asked.

"I don't know…" Kate trailed off.

"Uhm…hey...someone—or everyone, everyone is good too…" Humphrey rose to a standing position. He didn't turn around, nor did his head turn away from his gaze towards the sky. "The sun was out a few moments ago, right? I haven't turned into a senile old wolf yet, have I?"

"What are you talking about?" Kate snapped a little out of frustration, but knew Humphrey would understand. She walked over to the mouth of the den. It wasn't just Humphrey, but every wolf in the pack was out in the open, staring up at the sky. A cannon of uncertain murmurs littered the air among them. Kate sighed and glanced up at the sky. The darkness damn near struck her dumb—it had been so bright outside a few minutes ago. She couldn't quite make it out, but something—an island, maybe?—was floating right in front of the moon, littering shards of dark debris down from above.

"What's going on here…?"

-()()()()()()()()()()()()()))-

All he could do was die. Silver didn't flinch. He didn't bother to close his eyes or raise his head to see his death coming to him. He sat waiting; felt the air of the wooden spear being parted; felt the point of which was prime to bore through his head; to bring a painless, instant death. Silver was sorry he couldn't stop Garnet. He was so sorry he earned love from his pack. He was so sorry he fell so deeply in love with Snow, because ultimately, it was his love that killed her. And now, it was time to join her.

There was a bright flash of light and Silver was falling fast. Downward towards what he thought was the floor at first, but he never hit anything, just kept falling. The world around him became so bright that it hurt his eyes and he slammed them shut tight. Was this what death truly felt like…? An all-encompassing light that burned away not only the darkness, but everything else in sight as well…?

-()()()()()()()()()()()()()-

Silver sat at the bank of the vast lake of his home village. But something about it—about everything—was different. It wasn't barren like it should have been. The crater in the earth was filled with cool, sparkling water. Fish jumped and flopped lively from the surface, splashing back down and flecking Silver's cheek with water. There was no ash; there were no burns or torn and scarred land around him. Instead, the grass grew lush and wild. The trees reached up high from the ground and the leaves swayed in the soft breeze warm and inviting. Silver felt different too. He leaned forward over the lake and gazed at his reflection. What was given back to him was himself, but as a pup. He tilted his head and so did the reflection. He brought his paw up to his face and his reflection slowly stroked his small muzzle.

Silver was so busy trying to verify his puppy body that he didn't notice the burning coming from his left wrist until it was hot enough to make him wince. Snow's bracelet was white hot on his arm like coals. It was too much to even bare. He quickly snatched it off; tossed the burning beads out carelessly to the lake. They hit the water—but did not break the surface. Instead, the water rippled underneath them, slow in singular file at first, but gradually becoming greater until the water was filled with dancing rings. The beads cracked, shattered, and released millions of threads of wispy light up into the air. The midnight pup watched the wisps twist and twirl above in an eerie, lithe dance, then slowly land back to the surface of the lake. They rose up, taking subtle ambiguous shapes at first, before becoming something that made Silver intake sharply.

The lake was littered with souls, translucent figures of the pack he had loved so much; the pack that Garnet had killed. Among them, he could also make out the guardians; the infant spirits who had been robbed from their thrones, looking at puppy Silver with what looked almost like both regret and relief. And in front of them all, his grandfather stood, smiling proudly next to his mate.

Silver followed his first instinct: to walk out on the water surface and join his family and kin. But the moment he leaned out onto the lake, he tipped over and splashed down. The midnight pup sputtered and scrambled back onto the shore, shaking his fur dry.

"Always the ambitious pup. If I'm not mistaken, it started a lot of fights back then too." The old wolf's voice was safe and warm as he let out a chuckle.

"Why can't I reach you?" Silver asked.

"Because it's not time for you to reach me." The old wolf responded simply.

The young Silver tilted his head. "I don't understand."

The old wolf reached down and grasped a shard of what was left of Snow's bracelet. He coddled it in his palm, cold and lifeless. "Silver," He spoke, "What did I tell you about this, a gift from the heart?"

"I remember. To give it to someone I couldn't live without."

"And do you know why?" His grandfather hadn't meant fro the question to be answered, nor was Silver obliged to answer it. The old wolf took a seat and draped his arm about his mate's shoulder. She smiled warmly. "When one finds true love, it becomes a light. This light is all-consuming and shines as a beacon. This bracelet is a beacon for lost souls, guided by love's strong connection, be it theirs or another's. The light—your light—has gathered everyone here before you…"

Silver looked around. Obviously not everyone, for his beloved Snow was nowhere to be seen. His ears fell to the sides.

"Silver, everything that's happened to you has lead up to this moment because it was meant to. You are the only one who could potentially stop Garnet. It has been and always would have to be you. Garnet…" The wolf placed his paw to his chest where his heart was, "Is the true reason you could never become whole again. His darkness is too strong because it's completely covering his love. There is no love or happiness within him anymore…"

"But I'm not strong enough." Silver said, dejected. "I failed…I even lost Snow…she lost her life because I wasn't strong enough!" He slammed his paw on the ground. "I mean, seriously—who the hell am I kidding? From the moment I walked in, he was wiping the floor with me!"

"…." The elder wolf closed his eyes. "Everyone here has been drawn to the light from the bracelet. Everyone here wants to help you, because they love you, or feel that they have…have wronged you in some way." At this, he, his mate, and the other guardians gazed at the ground for a moment. Certainly Silver had felt wronged about being separated from his other half, but his grudge had never gone below the surface like Garnet's had done. "There is much love and much regret before you, but we all stand united here because in some way or form, we believe that it's you who has to end this." At this, the old wolf, his mate, and everyone else parted down the middle. Silver stared; had to swear to himself he wasn't just seeing things. His heart felt as though it had been inactive the entire time. But now, it was rattling against his ribcage excitedly.

She floated down from the back atop the surface of the water. She wasn't supported by anything, and so her body was dipped halfway beneath the wet barrier. She too had been reduced to the stature of a puppy, but the snowy white wolf was unmistakable.

"Snow!" Silver leapt into the water, but this time, he too only submerged halfway down into it. He couldn't tell if he was swimming or running, but he didn't care. The midnight wolf made his way to Snow, splashing and flailing, until he had her wrapped in his arms and pressed firm against his body. He could hear her breathing; feel her warm breath against his chest. It was as if she were merely sleeping. Silver smiled wide and buried his face in her headfur. He took in her scent, her feel—everything about her like it needed to be burned into his senses. It took him a moment to notice, but Snow's arm and leg were bare, devoid of any marks from him or Garnet.

"Her marks…"

"They're all gone. Garnet's will over her was overpowered by the light of your conviction—the fact that you couldn't live without her. And your markings have disappeared because you will need all of your strength for what's about to happen next." The old wolf sighed, "There is no certainty you'll win, Silver. Even after all this, Garnet is still more than capable of destroying you."

"…But he won't." Silver's grip on Snow tightened. When he raised his head, strength shone vibrantly in his eyes. "Because I refuse to have a world without Snow in it. I haven't completely broken my promise to her yet. I won't—I can't let that happen."

The old wolf smiled, like a father who was watching his son grow up before his own eyes. He gave a strong, pleased nod. "Then we all leave everything in your very capable paws, Silver."

"Right, but first, there was one thing I didn't understand." Silver's eyes returned to the side of Snow's leg—the side that bore his mark before. "Snow had my mark on her, but I don't remember putting it there. Garnet said that I had done it when she and I were pups…"

The old wolf did not answer immediately. He brought his paw to the back of his neck, rubbing the fur till it stood on end. He looked back to the guardian spirits, and they all returned the same uncertain look right back at him. Silver frowned. They knew.

"Silver…" The older wolf started, "Some things are just best left unsaid…"

"But—"

But before he could say anything or even bring his paw up in protest, the world around him started to dissipate. More and more ambiguous it became, wrapping both away and around Silver. And then, the nothingness returned.

-()()()()()()()()()()())()()-

Snow took in a very sharp breath. It felt like she had been drowning and now was finally getting all the precious air she needed. She coughed. Her lungs burned like crazy. She couldn't remember much; she remembered falling into the overpowering darkness like sleep, only to be bathed in a light so bright that it stung her body. And now, she was on solid ground again. Snow sat up and opened her eyes. The world around her came into slow focus, but quickly made her feel as though she were dreaming. The light that had been stinging her eyes was not gone. It was beside her, blaring luminously enough to make her wince and look away. Garnet (she jumped at the sight of his gargantuan form) was standing a good distance away from her, scowling evilly at the bright light next to her. Snow's ears shot up in realization and she quickly whipped her head around the Valley of Kings. She couldn't find Silver, and that damned light was making it to where she had to back away just to squint her eyes enough to see. She could make out a few rather large wooden splinters on the ground and felt her head spin—what the hell went on between her momentary lapse?

The light suddenly dispersed and Snow felt an involuntary gasp escape her lips. There Silver stood, tall and strong, but something about him was different. Maybe it was his physical appearance. White fur wrapped around his arms and thighs in almost rune-like markings. Two pairs of wings, one white and one black, flexed strong from his back and the midnight wolf was clad in silvery armor on his paws and left shoulder. A black scarf, tattered at the ends, was wrapped around his neck and the symbol of the crossed sun and moon that was on the flag beneath the throne was pinned to the side. Yeah, maybe it was his physical appearance. Or maybe it was the power that was radiating off of him. Whatever it was, Snow found herself both gawking and blushing.

"Silver…" Garnet breathed, "Still holding onto that last ray of hope..? you still think that there's a chance you can beat me, even after all the power I've obtained?"

Silver said nothing.

"Always ever the optimist. You were always like that; always gave me that look of sheer defiance just like the last time. Well let me tell you something, sibling of mine." Garnet stamped his paw on the ground, so hard that the world around them shuddered. "I've planned my entire life to lead up to this single moment. Everything I have; everything I am comes down to this and I'll be damned if I let you take victory from me!"

The words were the last. The time for talk was over, and with a mighty roar, Garnet willed the water to rise up out of their banks, spiral into what looked like spears, and chucked them straight at Silver. The midnight wolf was as calm as a cucumber, and before Snow could say anything, he had snatched her off her feet as the weapons splattered harshly into the ground. He was moving fast—much faster than usual. Snow clung to his fur tight as Silver weaved and danced through raging trees that spat out thorns; roaring waters that reached at him like long, raspy hands; flames that cracked the ground the moment they hit. Garnet gave a frustrated snarl and let out a mighty howl; the trees, wind, fire, and water all converged towards Silver from all sides, stopping the midnight wolf in his tracks. Snow screamed his name loudly, hiding her face into her beloved's fur. And then, they were suddenly spiraling through the air, Silver barreling through the elements like a rotating bullet up into the air. In his paws, flames of darkness wrapped in a spiraling wind of light gathered, and Snow was forced to hold on tight as he suddenly dove for Garnet.

"Wraaahhh!" The massive wolf roared and the water had once again become a weapon fro him. Silver remained unnerved, bouncing Snow high into the air as one sharp wisp of water shot between them, and practically tearing the on-coming others in a roar of the bright winds and dark flames he had gathered. In his mouth, the hilt of a sword materialized. The blade slowly grew, silver and shining like a mirror reflecting the moonlight; the moment Snow landed back onto Silver's back, the blade and Garnet's claws clashed. Despite his lack of size, Silver was hovering impossibly in the air, holding strong against the claws like an overwhelming force of nature. Sparks of light and dark; wind and flames; pure energy surged wildly around the Valley of Kings. Pillars were shattered, the thrones were splintered, and the land became battle-torn. Snow felt sick. The movements were too fast and too wild for her comfort, but all she could do was cling to Silver and pray she didn't fall off.

It was Garnet who sent Silver's sword spiraling up into the air, forcibly back-handing the smaller wolf with such vicious furiousity that he cannoned towards the ground. Obvious to his upper hand, Garnet roared a wave of flames from his mouth.

"Silver!" Snow squeaked—and the flames pass right over them. She blinked, looking around frantically for the impossible feat. Silver's body was ablaze in the aura of blackened flames and luminous winds, repelling the fire in every direction from them. Amazed wasn't really the word for how she felt watching him, a force in himself desperately fighting for the sake of her safety. She blushed and though the carnage was abounding around her, she felt safe in the wake of her beloved. Which was why Snow protested when Silver landed and let her down.

"Stay here," And then, he was off again, at first at a mundane sprint around the side. He deftly jumped and caught his spiraling sword in his mouth—as though he knew were and when it would fall—and the moment his feet touched the ground, he was a blur of black fur again. Silver's body became enshrouded in a aura of darkness and light, speeding around towards his brother, who was already striking out against him. Claw and sword clashed and clanged in loud, deadly chimes throughout the air. The two wolves were like two forces, wildly dancing, powerfully exchanging, moving to a beat of power that was unfathomable even with the naked eye. Was this how it was when Silver and Garnet fought on level ground? Cataclysmic power that would have torn the earth to ribbons had they still been on it? Snow could only stand back as a bystander to something someone could only ever experience once in their lifetime.

There was a roar from Garnet as another solid slash of Silver's sword caught the wolf's side, leaving a burning cut that would probably never close. Both wolves were covered in cuts, blood flecking the ground around them till they couldn't help but step in it every now and then. Silver gasped and brought his wings over his body; a wave of fire crashed down into his body, sending the midnight wolf sliding back into Snow. She caught him, but they both took a spill to the ground. Silver was panting, but so was Garnet. They stared daggers at each other, mortal enemies destined to kill the other no matter what. Silver sucked his fangs. The whole time he had been trying to get close to Garnet, the massive wolf fought to repel him back as frantically as he could, even if that meant taking a hit. And Silver knew why. Damage from a distance would be deflected or dodged; damage to the skin and body would only tire the two of them out even more. Garnet needed to take a direct hit to the inside, just like Ein had taken. And it would have to be now. The look of steel resolve was clear in both their eyes. This would be the final blow. There was a long, very still silence as the two wolves stood unmoving, unspeaking, unblinking. The land around them had gone dead, as if it were holding it's breath and waiting for one of them to make a move.

And then, Silver kicked off the ground in a flash. His body whirled through the air like a bullet of blazing light and darkness, claws outreached and poised straight for Garnet's forehead. At the same time, Garnet twisted the water and fire, sending it in a roaring spiral from around his body—aimed right towards Snow. The snowy white wolf froze, eyes wide in horror, body awaiting death like a deer in a pair of headlights.

"Snow!" Silver heaved his body as far to the side as he could. The midnight wolf propelled in front of Snow; the flames and water collided into his body; and before he could even move through the billowing cloud of steam, wooden tendrils—too many for him to count—moved in sharp droves across Silver. The midnight wolf let out a blood-curdling scream as they spears lifted him upwards off the ground. Some stabbed into his shoulders and thighs; some brushed against him hard enough to leave bleeding cuts in his skin. They slammed Silver into one of the thrones, pinning him to it in an almost ironic sitting position. Blood ran in sickening trails down the tendrils, splattering onto the seat and stone landing.

"Ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Garnet roared in giddy, twisted laughter.

"No…" Snow breathed.

"Yes!" Garnet exclaimed, "See that you are just like them—a force who thought he was mighty, but now a weakling before me! You were never meant to defeat me; the day they tore us apart was the day everyone's fate was sealed, including yours. Did you honestly think you could change anything; snatch away the justice I have waited so long to serve? You fool! You have always been and only ever will be the part of me I should have gotten rid of a long time ago."

It took a moment for Snow to snap out of her stupor. She could no longer sit there and gaze upon Silver, helpless to move out of the chair, too dazed from the hit and loss of blood to fight the temporarily dizziness. She had sat by the sidelines the entire fight as a helpless spectator. Silver was always risking himself for her, and now it was her turn. Snow looked around for something—anything—that would be useful to her. Snow's answer came in the form of something simple; something she had noticed the moment she had woken up. One of the large, sword-like wooden splinters stuck out amongst the other smaller ones like a sore thumb—no, more like a last-minute beacon of hope. Snow didn't have time to think, grasping the spear in her mouth.

"Die, Silver!" The wind around Garnet became concentrated and sharp, launching straight towards Silver. Silver's ears rung, one of his eyes wincing open, looking into the face of death for a second time and loathing every moment of it. So this is what his grandfather had mentioned; that even through it all, he was still not strong enough to take on such an ambitious wolf who overthrew the other guardian spirits. He was going to die.

"Silver!" Snow put all her power into swinging her muzzle, so much that after the wooden shard flew form her mouth, she crashed forward to the ground. It made a sickening whistle through the air, flying further than Snow would've thought possible. And it landed right into Garnet's left eye.

"Wraaugghhh!" The giant wolf staggered, slamming his eye shut, and the wind that was headed for Silver's head instead caught the upper corner of his ear; it cute the skin effortlessly and sliced the corner of the throne like a knife cleaving through butter. It was short, but it was all the moment he needed. With every last ounce of effort, strength, and power he could possibly muster, Silver's body became ablaze with roaring black flames and wildly whipping winds of light. He tore from the throne as fast and as hard as he could, his paw outstretched and his claws poised for his brother's head again. Garnet was so busy yanking the weapon out of his now bleeding eye that when he saw Silver coming, he frantically caused another rain of wooden tendrils to fire haphazardly at the midnight wolf. He wasn't prepared to lose. He wasn't going to let Silver end a reign that hadn't even started yet. No, he would skewer him before he left that happen. But Silver didn't stop coming. He charged through the weapons, getting cuts on his cheeks, shoulders, sides, and even his wings. He couldn't stop; there were no more chances—the end had to be now. So he sucked up the pain, flying towards Garnet like a shooting star; Garnet roared, frantically throwing everything he had at Silver.

"Silllllvvverrrrrr!"

"Garrrrnneeetttt!"

_BOOM!_

There was an explosion so fierce that it threw Snow back into the only body of water that had not been usurped by Garnet. Everything in the Valley of Kings shuddered; the thrones broke apart; the trees toppled over; and even the stars seemed ashamed by the carnage that wrecked their land. Snow clung frantically to the side of the bank. Pools of water dumped on her from the rocking river, threatening to pull her down under. How many times was she going to fight for air today, anyway? A thin cloud of smoke and debris hovered thick, billing wildly from where the two wolves had faced off. Shockwaves of power still rattled the land, threatening to tear it completely asunder. It took a very long moment for the world to calm down from its fit. What little bit of it that was left standing was now struggling to do so by the skin of its teeth. The cloud of smoke slowly began to clear, and as dripping wet Snow crawled out of the water, she could make out the two figures.

Silver was unmoving in the air, almost like he was frozen in time. His paw was still outstretched and his fangs were clenched. Blood trickled down his neck, down the tip of a tendril that was poking where his adam's apple was. Snow gasped and clasped her paws over her mouth. So even after all that; even after both her effort and Silver's, it still came to this? Snow felt like she was going to be sick. Her ears fell down at the sides of her head. The rest of the debris cleared away and Garnet appeared to be frozen in time as well. Silver's claws were jammed against his head, trickles of blood running down the front of his face. The two of them stood there, frozen without so much as a breath. Snow didn't even know what to do. She didn't dare to move towards them; to try and reach Silver. All she could do, once again, was sit and stare.

It was Silver who moved first. His body twitched and pain—in addition to all the other cuts he had received—shocked his neck. The wooden spear hadn't pushed through enough to kill him; just enough to graze the skin into bleeding. A fragment of a second more and things would have truly ended for him. He gazed at Garnet, who was still starring wild-eyed at him. Silver's claws weren't deep enough to break the cranium, but then, they didn't have to be. At the moment of contact, Silver had thrown every ounce of his power at Garnet through his claws; created a speedy gale that was so fine and so fast that it couldn't be seen; that it bypassed the skin and attacked the inside instead. Garnet's body trembled. Blood from cuts unseen flecked the air in small, sharp crescents, disappearing before even hitting the ground. His legs trembled and he looked at Silver with so much hate that the midnight wolf felt it burning through his body, right to his soul. But there was something else there too. Something soft and unforeseen. Was it regret? Or maybe sadness…?

"Y-You…" Garnet spoke, but his breath cracked. His mouth was moving, but the words just weren't forming. Instead, something invaded Silver's head; took over the images in his mind with no resistance from him whatsoever. For just a moment—soft and fleeting—Silver could see a pup that looked like himself at first, but quickly turned out to be Garnet instead. The world around Garnet was bright, almost too bright to see clearly. Another pup walked up to his side and Silver gawked. Her resemblance to Kate was almost as close as Snow's resemblance to Lily. Except this pup had a deal more headfur, of which was kept in a spiky ponytail climbing up the back of her head. She placed a paw on puppy Garnet's shoulder and Silver could hear his voice; hear him whisper just one word.

"Aurora…"

There was another explosion, the force of which shot Silver backwards. As he tumbled across the ground, his armor shattered; his scarf unraveled; and his markings vanished off of his body. He slid to a slow stop on the invisible floor. He was dizzy. He was groggy and could barely feel the strength to get up off the ground. So he lay there, listening to his brother let out a blood-curdling howl. His yell shook the room again. His fur became bright like the silvery moon above, trembling with the world around him. And then, Garnet's form shrunk. Seven colored lights leapt from his body one by one, each resulting in a more diminished Garnet and swirling around the top of the room. The moment they were all orbiting the air around him, they dispersed across the sky, vanishing like multi-colored shooting stars. Garnet's body slumped forward and the light sizzled away from his body. Like Silver, he was panting hard, but he was loosing blood fast. His eyes were dilated, and his muscles were failing. He was pretty much dead on his feet—and yet, he was still standing. Garnet's chest heaved, but he slowly made his way towards Silver.

"N-not…finished…" He coughed, literally dragging himself across the floor. Snow watched in awe and a great deal of fear, that even after all that, Garnet could still find it in him to walk and even talk to a degree. Was his goal really so important that he would not—could not—die? Silver's body ached all over. Every move warranted unwanted spasms of pain all over his body. He was tired and completely spent. And yet, there he was, gasping for air as he lifted up to his paws. His legs were wobbling and his vision blurred in and out. But he walked forward slowly. The two wolves were more so fighting to breathe than to get to each other.

"S-Silver—!" Garnet tried to lunge; to bring his claw to Silver's face, but his body slumped down against Silver's shoulder, finally giving under his weight. Silver sighed and looked down to the now defeated Garnet. He wasn't at all what he had appeared to be before. The strong-willed monster now looked weak and broken, unable to stand on his own paws. To look at him now would have belied Garnet to be considered a serious anything, let alone a threat.

To see Silver moving again—to see that he wasn't dead, but alive and still breathing—was enough to snatch Snow out of her shock. Her ears perked up and she smiled wide, her tail wagging. It was all over now. The two of them could go home together, marry each other, have as many pups as she could possibly give (okay, the last one was a stretch. Snow's eyes lit up as she began to plan and relish in the future events. Without another word, Snow took to running towards him. Silver turned his gaze to her. His honest silver eyes were married to exhaustion and he looked like he was about ready to drop. But still, he smiled weakly to her, relieved that it was finally over.

"Let's go hom—"

The sound wasn't really loud at all, but it echoed sickeningly all the same. It was the sound of tearing flesh and a few moments later, a shocked-looking Silver felt a sharp pain suddenly stinging in his chest. Snow stopped in her tracks, eyes wide and trembling with horror. Her mouth hung open, but only dry air came in place of words that couldn't' describe the abrupt fear that overtook her. Silver slowly gazed down. Garnet was looking at him with a dark, breathless grin, the blood from his wound still slicking his muzzle. His paw was pressed against Silver's chest and his claws were buried beyond the flesh. The midnight wolf froze, unable to move, unable to comprehend. And it was starting to get hot. A raging heat seemed to be building from Garnet's claws. It spread inside Silver, mild at first, but becoming hotter and hotter until he couldn't stand it anymore. The flames blazed within him, and the moment he let out a pained yell, spits of fire erupted from Silver's mouth, showing the floor in smoldering cinders.

"S-see you in the next life…brother…" Garnet breathed, and then slumped to the ground motionless. Silver's eyes were still wide and trembling. It hurt to breath. Blood slipped from the corner of his mouth, a clear sign of internal damage. He painstakingly moved back enough for Garnet's claws to fall from him to the ground. But the damage was done. His vision was failing fast, making the world spin in vertigo around him. Silver's muscles were quickly losing what little strength they had. He slowly turned his gaze to Snow. Her paws were pressed so hard to her muzzle that she could have damn near eaten them. It wasn't real, she told herself. She tried to put herself back into their future; a future with Silver and their pups. But the imagery was fading fast, slipping through her fingers no matter how hard she tried to hold on. Silver looked Snow directly in the eyes. They were so warm, so full of undying love for her and she felt them drawing her in, slowly making her step forward. It was as if they were conversing with each other through unspoken words, in a time that moved slower around them.

_I'm so sorry_, Silver's eyes flickered.

_No, don't say that! Don't…everything is going to be fine_, Snow's eyes pleaded.

_I love you…you know that, right?_

_Of course I do! Silver! Don't do this!_

_Snow…_

_Silver, don't you die on me, goddammit!_

"Snow…" Silver's voice didn't sound, but his lips moved the syllables of her name, rolling them around the same way they had done when they first met. And then, Snow saw the lights from Silver's eyes fade. His body stood tall and very proud for a few moments, then slumped down to the ground with a thud.

The Valley of Kings suddenly became distorted, as though without its two star players, it couldn't no longer support itself. The world wobbled and became rippled, like the disturbed surface of the lake. Trees and rivers melted into each other as the petals of the flowers fluttered into nothingness. The stars fell like diamonds in the sky, twilight and darkness melding into one while the sky twisted in upon itself. The silvery moon faded into the nothingness, and the world had returned to Garnet's throne room. But now, the sun was shining bright from the clear blue sky, and gravity was torturing the room. Parts of the ceiling fell as the interior rumbled. The pillars cracked or collapsed on themselves and the floor was beginning to split. There was a cascading to the left, leaving the room tilted and deducing that the entire structure that was once floating majestically was now falling.

"Silver…." Snow breathed, her voice breaking. A part of the stone ceiling fell with a shattering crash next to her, but she didn't care. All she could do was keep her eyes transfixed on the fallen midnight wolf. "Silver….Silver!" Snow sprinted over to him, sliding down on the broken marble floor. She shook him, nudging him with her muzzle. He wasn't dead. He would wake up like he always did, stronger than ever. He wasn't dead. She kissed his cheek and shook him again.

"Wake up…"

He wasn't dead. She slapped his muzzle and it remained motionless. He wasn't dead.

"Silver, time to get up…" Snow nuzzled his ear, "We have to go and get married, remember…?"

He wasn't dead. Snow shook him with enough force to roll him over on his back.

"You idiot! Wake up! W-wake up! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!" Snow slammed her fists down on him, then let her face collapse into his fur. The room around her was crumbling, but it was nothing compared to how broken her heart was now. The tears were rolling from her cheeks uncontrollably now and she sobbed. She sobbed hard into Silver's fur, gripping clumpfuls in her paws. Her ears fell lifelessly at the sides of her head and debris was flecking into her headfur. But she didn't care. It hadn't crossed Snow's mind that Silver could leave her. He always seemed so strong, so invincible. And now, reality was making a punching bag out of her heart. So she lay there, sobbing into his fur till the tears refused to come out anymore. The debris was falling faster now, to the point where it was getting Silver's fur messy. Snow wasn't sure what it was, but something told her to move, **now.** She rubbed her paw on her cheek, then crawled under Silver's body. He was still slightly warm, but very motionless as his wings tickled her sides. There was no rush in her walk. She solemnly paced away, just as a large amount of the ceiling came crashing down over Garnet's body. Snow kept her movement slow and mindless, as if her feet were willing her to move and her brain had completely shut off. The room around her wailed as it cracked and split and broke into lots of fragmented sections. But she kept walking.

Snow wandered the long corridors, traversed down the winding steps and twisting rooms of the Sacred Bastion. When a way was blocked off by wreckage, Snow would mindlessly wander another route around it. She came to a point where she found Koda. The wolf was slumped against the wall, half hidden under an array of large boulders. The spot where Garnet's marking had been was scorched and it was hard to tell what killed him first. Snow should have felt pity for him, but she couldn't. Her emotions had gone completely numb. So she gave Koda a passing glance and decided to move on.

Snow walked beyond the threshold and out onto a landing. The part had been ripped from the Sacred Bastion when it lifted into the air, leaving it exposed to the outside. The world seemed so small from up above. The island structure was heading down so fast that the wind was whipping Snow's headfur in every direction. So this was the end of the line. Nothing to do now but wait, crash, and die. Snow should have been scared, but she wasn't. In a dark sense, she was slightly comforted. Just as much as he couldn't live without her, she couldn't live without Silver. She closed her eyes, feeling the wind on her cheek, and set Silver down. Death would soon take her too.

The feathers of Silver's wings were tickling her more now, more than the wind should have. When it got to the point of bothering her, Snow opened her eyes. Silver's wings were falling apart from his dead, motionless body, but were clinging to Snow's fur unnaturally. They clustered around her paws, arms, and hips, until the last had fluttered from Silver's back. And then, she was suddenly being hoisted off the edge of the landing. She wanted to scream, to yell out in fear, but Silver's death had stolen that too. Instead, Snow felt Silver's feathers act like a large, strong hand slowly lowering her down from the sky. Her eyes never left the fallen midnight wolf, who was laying on the floor as she drifted further and further away. The more she floated, the more Silver's body became diminished in her vision, until all she could see was the crumbling floating structure hovering over the snow-capped mountain tops. The ruffling black and white plumage lowered Snow through a thinning layer of trees, and when she looked down, she could see Arin and Bianca below. At first, they looked dismayed to see the snowy white wolf floating down on feathers like some sort of angel. But the day had been filled with so much unbelievable mayhem that they were waving their arms at her in welcome and relief instead of freaking out. Snow didn't respond, landing on the cold ground. The moment she touched down, Silver's feathers vanished into the wind without a trace.

"Snow! You're alright!" Arin jumped at her. She didn't' look at him, but he didn't seem to notice. "Geeze, Snow, we were really worried sick about you!"

"Yeah, but I guess everything worked out okay and Silver brought you back safe." Bianca chirped, then looked around. "Speaking of which, where is Silver?"

"Probably back giving Garnet the boot." Arin imitated a kick too hard and slipped in the snow. Snow said nothing. Her eyes were transfixed to the crumbling structure falling from the sky. Arin and Bianca looked at her. They could easily tell now that something was very wrong. Snow looked broken, like someone who had lost everything. Her eyes were puffy from crying and the liveliness was gone. Bianca and Arin looked at her worriedly for a moment, then turned silent as they looked up to watch what she was seeing. The floating structure had finally crashed down on top of the mountain. It shattered like glass into millions of strewn pieces. The mountain rumbled and snow shook in dangerous droves from it for a moment. It hadn't taken long for Arin and Bianca to at least understand Silver was on that floating island. What they didn't know was that he had been dead long before it even crashed. While Arin and Bianca felt sadness begin to overtake them, Snow found that she had more tears left to shed.

Tears for a fallen hero…

Tears for a lost love…

Tears for her world…

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_**It's not quite done yet, only one more chapter to go. Tune into the exciting conclusion of Silver Snow, everyone!**_


	13. In The Arms of Snow

_**Hello everyone, and welcome to the very last chapter of Silver Snow! Wow, it's been a long time coming, but now things can finally wrap up...er, for the moment, anyway. Sorry about such a late release for such a short chapter. Finals and all. Without any further delay, enjoy the last chapter!**_

**_Final Chapter: In The Arms of Snow_**

_One Year Later…_

"But mom, I want to play **now.**"

"No, stop being a brat." Luna sighed. Three small pups were bouncing around her feet like they were high, and their mother was starting to actually believe so. The girls looked more like Mick than her, but where they had received their father's appearance, they had gained her personality. Luna often wondered if this was what everyone had to put up with from her for years. It was times like this that made her think humans were right to invent leashes. The sun was shining bright over the snow-fallen land of jasper park. The winter was a bit warm today, but nonetheless, the snow was still thick and darkening clouds suggested that they were due for more soon. Things were normal now. Sort of. There were no more fire-breathing wolves. There were no more supernatural catastrophe's that made everyone do a double take. But even so, after all that had happened, normality would never be the same again.

"Uggh—where is your father?" Luna shouted when the pups began to hang off her like a furry monkey bar.

"He's right here." Mick came striding from the direction of Kate's den.

"Daddy!" The pups squirmed and tackled him over. Mick chuckled and wrestled them down before nudging them aside.

"Go play. Your mother and I need to go." Mick said.

"To go make more of us?" The pups chimed annoyingly honest.

"Not if he wants to keep being able to do that." Luna mumbled loud enough for Mick to hear. He rolled his eyes.

"We have to go see Aunt Snow." Mick said. The pups gave fake, dejected looks, but when they saw their father was serious, they scampered off. Luna shook her head, then looked off towards the path ahead of them. Maybe it wasn't so much a return to normalcy around Jasper Park as it was a return of the routine. Because the mood had definitely been shifted into something dark for the past year. News of Silver's death hit everyone like a brick, and even sent Anna and Kate into a fit of sobs. And Snow was never the same. The damage to her heart was too much for her to bare. She barely ate, barely spoke, and barely left her lookout cliff. At first, everyone had thought she just needed time to cope—that things would get better as she healed. But the healing never happened. The more time past, the more of each day she spent on the edge of her cliff, until she barely hardly came home at all. Every now and then, her friends would go to see Snow—to try to pull her out of her lethargy—but deep down, they knew it was an effort in vain. And that made Luna feel even worse. Her ears hung low and she found herself staring at her paws.

"Luna…" Mick started. He already knew ahead of time how Luna usually got whenever the subject of Snow was brought up.

"Mick, this is all my fault…"

"No it isn't, Luna. We've been through this." Mick nuzzled his mate. She drew away.

"But what if I hadn't upset her..? If I had just left Silver alone, he wouldn't have had to run off and save her…I'm so selfish…"

"Luna, it would have come down to him saving her anyway…" Mick said solemnly, "Now let's go, love."

Luna wasn't convinced. She never was. But she nodded and walked after her mate. The snow crunched fresh under her paws as the two made their way towards Snow's lookout. Before long, they ran into Arin and Bianca. Arin was wearing a nifty blue winter hat and matching mittens with the price tags still on them. No doubt another pair of nick-nacks he had lifted from visiting campers. He had made an annoying habit out of it despite Kate's numerous warnings. In the otters paws was a slab of caribou meat, fresh from the den in which he raided it from. Bianca stood next to him, a tiny blue bird attached obediently to her side. Her mate, a neighboring bluebird in the park, had been forced to stay during the winter on her insistence, even though they were both freezing to the roots of their feathers outside the refuge of Anna's warm den.

"Hey Arin, Bianca." Mick nodded. The years time had changed him. Normally, he'd have cracked a joke on Arin's stolen goods, but growing up and becoming a father had made him more mature than anyone would have guessed.

"How's it goin'?" Arin smiled, "You're going to see Snow too?"

"Yeah," Luna said.

"Then lets go together." Bianca suggested.

"Yeah, she'll like seeing all of us. And I got her something to eat too." Arin brandished the meat proudly as though he was the one who actually hunted it.

"She might not eat it, but it's a good thought. Come on." Mick moved ahead of them all. The group traveled through the thicket of trees, and then up the hill. It didn't take long for them to reach Snow's lookout. The fact that the snow around the area was still fresh meant that the white wolf had stayed overnight yet again. And at the top, they found Snow. She was laying on her stomach, her arm dangling off the edge of the cliff. She didn't move, but her ears did perk up to acknowledge her friends' presence. Mick, Arin, Bianca, and Luna walked over to her and took a seat in the snow. She looked no better than the day she had come home; eyes seeing, but not looking; body alive, but not living. She was starting to thin around the waist, and Mick questioned when the last time she actually ate was. It was saddening just to look at someone who used to be so full with the zeal of living be completely dead inside. Silver was gone and had taken her heart with him.

"Hey, Snow…" Mick started. Snow's eyes glanced to the side at him, but that was it. "We came to see how you were doing. Are you doing okay…?"

What a stupid question. Of course she wasn't, but she nodded anyway.

"look, I brought you something good to eat." Arin walked before her and held the caribou meat inches from her nose. "Yeah, you can thank me later for it, okay?"

"You can put it somewhere nearby…thanks, but I'm not hungry right now." Snow's voice was broken and could only speak in hushed tones. Arin nodded and set the meat on the snow nearby her. For a moment, no one said anything, and when the staring became too much for her, Snow struggled to break the silence. Luna, how are your pups…?"

"As troublesome as ever. They're gonna make me an old woman before long. But other than that, they're very well." Luna said. She hoped she had sounded more cheerful than she felt. She had tried to apologize countless times to Snow, but never felt an adequate amount of forgiveness from both Snow and herself had been gained.

"That's good…" Snow closed her eyes for a long moment, then turned her head to Bianca. The bird's chick hid sheepishly behind his mother. "You brought Chip today…"

"Yeah, he wanted to come and see you." Bianca nudged her hatchling, who smiled shyly.

"Hello, miss Snow." His manners always threw Arin—because Chip most certainly did not get them from Bianca.

Snow nodded, then turned her head away again. The silence had returned, leaving the group to just sit there. This time, it was Mick who broke it, leaning over to look Snow in the eye.

"Snow, it's been a year…how long are you going to do this to yourself?" She looked at him, but didn't answer. Mick looked a little frustrated, but tried to keep it composed. He brandished his paw out over the edge of the cliff. "Why don't you go out on another adventure or something? You always talked about seeing the world. The first trip was a good one, rig—" But that had been the wrong thing to say and he quickly stopped himself. He wasn't trying to be an idiot, but Snow was making it hard for him to cheer her up. She sighed and turned away from him. Everyone shot Mick a "put your foot in your mouth, jackass" look. He shook his head at them, then looked back down at Snow. She wasn't going to budge and there was nothing they could say to her. He sighed and leaned down, nudging her ear.

"Snow…I'm sorry about what happened. But you can't stay like this, drifting through life with no purpose. You have friends that love you…"

Snow's response was a sigh. Feeling that there was no talking to her, Mick backed away and started down off the cliff. No one followed him at first, but knew they would get the same kind of response from her. So they gave Snow hugs or nuzzles before filing off down the cliff. Snow didn't move. She didn't acknowledge their leaving. She just lay there with her face pressed to the cold ground.

"This isn't working…" Luna said once they were well out of earshot.

"I hate to admit it too, but I don't think she's going to open up for us ever again." Arin pulled the mittens back to the edge of his wrists. They were a tad too big and kept slipping off his paws.

"What about finding her another mate?" Mick suggested stupidly.

"Tried that, but she won't have it." Bianca stated.

"Well there has to be—" And Mick's voice suddenly trailed off. It took a moment for the others to see what he had seen, walking up in the distance. But they soon saw it too. And their jaws dropped.

-()()()()()()()()()()()-

Snow knew they were trying their best to cheer her up. But in all honesty, she didn't want to be cheered up. It had been a year, but everyday waking up to a world without Silver was almost too much to bear. She usually slept long, because in her dreams, he was not dead. In her dreams, he was alive, caressing her, kissing her, telling her how much he loved her and that he would never leave her. But when she was awake, reality taunted her with the memory of her gallant lover dying right before her eyes. Every moment of her being awake was like watching her heart break all over again. How long would it be like this? How long would she have to trudge through the day with a hole where her heart should have been? Snow sighed and turned over, away from the edge of the cliff. The view was so beautiful, Jasper park capped with a brilliant sheen of white snow. And it made her sick.

The sound of crunching snow made the white wolf's ears perk up in acknowledgement again. Her friends must've been coming back and she really wasn't in the mood for another round of cheer-up-stuff. She could see a single entity walking calmly beyond the trees along the trail that lead up to her cliff. It was probably Mick. He was like the bad habit that couldn't be kicked, ever eager to help and never knowing when to give up. And though there were noticeable changes in him, he was still as annoying as ever. But as the figure came closer, she realized that its movements were too strong to be Mick's. Maybe it was Kate or Garth on their way to try their luck at cheering her up. Snow knew she would have a hard time sending them away. She was about to pretend to go to sleep—and then, she sat up bolt-right.

The wolf's fur was as black as the midnight sky, save the white that was on his muzzle, paws, belly, and tailtip. His stride was strong and there was a thin, pink scar across his muzzle. He was wearing a black scarf around his neck, and a hip pouch was slung around his hind flanks, as though he had traveled a great distance to get to where he was now. The closer the figure stepped towards Snow, the more she felt her heart become lodged in her throat. She hadn't realized she had been holding her breath until her lungs stung in her chest. What she was seeing just couldn't be real. The midnight wolf's headfur was very long—so long that it was a wonder how he could see beyond his bangs. His stride was like a strong angel, parting the darkness on his way up towards her. And when a single breeze blew through the land, wrapping around Snow like a wispy blanket, it pushed back the on-coming wolf's headfur.

She saw them—clear, honest, strong, loving silver eyes that were looking dead at her. Snow had to be dreaming. She blinked several times, shook her fur, slapped her muzzle, but he was still coming. She splattered snow on her face. He was still walking right towards her. She was going crazy. The depression had finally taken hold of her and she was seeing things. But the closer the wolf got to her, everything was too familiar to be a dream. He smelled the way he always had; he looked at her the way he always did. And now, he was standing only a few inches away from Snow. She couldn't speak. Her mouth was open, but nothing was coming out. The wind had stopped blowing, letting the midnight wolf's bangs fall back over his eyes. He slowly turned the corners of his maw up.

"I heard that you could get a great view of the world from here." He said, "Know anyone who might know a bit more about that…?" He slowly raised his paw. Snow was stunned stupid. She could only watch as he set it down on top of her head, and slowly ruffled her headfur into a mess. "Snow…"

"S…" Snow's eyes widened and she looked to his paw, then back to him. The gesture was a surge of life and Snow felt everything starting to work again. Her heart was beating into overdrive and the familiar warmth was creeping back into her chest. Her ears slowly raised up and her tail began to wag. The corners of her trembling eyes filled with tears and were now rolling down the sides of her cheeks like endless rivers. "Silver…"

"Oh, you do remember who I am." Silver smiled wider, "That's good, I was beginning to feel a little sad—"

"SILVER!"

"Whoa!"

Snow leapt at Silver, knocking him down onto his back. Her arms seized around him as tight as she could, as if he would go slipping through them at any moment. She kissed whatever part of him she could. Every solid kiss was like a reaffirming shock that he was really there before her. And the more she did, the more she cried into his fur. But it didn't matter. She could let all the tears she had been holding in go. Her world was back, ready to piece everything back the way it was supposed to be; making everything the way it should have been al along. Silver closed his eyes and embraced her fully with no intention of ever letting her go again.

"I thought you were gone…" Snow squeaked.

"I would never leave you…" Silver whispered.

"I was so sad…"

"I was too…"

"You won't leave me again…?"

"Never…"

Snow looked up to him, nudging the headfur from his eyes. Her emerald eyes settled into his, searching for the truth that was always so readily visible within him. He wasn't lying, but then, he never lied to her. Silver slowly pressed his lips against Snow's, only to be greeted back with a kiss so forceful—so full of pent up longing for him—that he was knocked back again. He smiled and kept her close, keeping her mouth locked firm to his. The clouds rolled further into the sky before bursting with another winter drizzle. Flecks of silvery snow fell on top of the two lovers as they lay on the ground, exposed to it all, wrapped in a love that would last forever.

"I love you, Silver…"

"I love you, Snow. Always and forever, my heart belongs to you…"

**The End**

* * *

**_Thank you so much everyone. Thank you for the support of this story. As I said from the beginning, I really loved this story and for me to actually see a story through to the end is quite rare indeed. But don't feel bad that this is the end, oh no, not by a longshot, folks. Because remember, the prequel (And potential sequel?) is going to be underway soon, so be on the lookout for it! Again, everyone, thanks so much for the support and have a good night_**


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